use caliper but get completely different results than last version

[youblue]

If not using caliper the results keep the same. But when I used the same program with selected caliper before, the results completely changed.

[ngreifer]

Yes, the behavior when using calipers has changed. To replicate old results, you must use an older version of MatchIt. That said, if you did not set a seed when you originally ran the analysis, your results will not replicate anyway.

In the past, matchit() would randomly select one control unit within the caliper of a treated unit. Now, matchit() selects the closest control unit within the caliper of the treated unit, which makes more sense and should yield better matches. Because the old version used a random selection of units, it would be impossible to replicate results without setting a seed prior to calling matchit(). Now, the matched set will be the same every time when a caliper is used. So, even though older results are no longer replicable, the new version improves replicability moving forward and should produce better matches, especially when wider calipers are used.

[youblue]

Thank you so much for the clarification!

[youblue]

Can I ask a follow-up question?

With the new behavior of caliper, does it mean that the matched controls selected when using caliper are always a subset of those selected without using caliper, given all the other parameters are the same (using method = "nearest")?
Since caliper behaviors only helps to remove those "outliers" but for those matched ones they are always the nearest get selected, there's no randomness any more?

Thank you so much!