This short course will make Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) accessible to a wide audience of researchers across many disciplines. SEM is a very general and powerful multivariate technique to link conceptual models, path diagrams, factor analysis and other mathematical models. These techniques allow for 1) the combination of continuous, categorical and latent and observed variables; 2) modeling of causal relationships including multiple direct and indirect effects in a single analysis (mediation analysis); 3) cutting-edge techniques for model selection and comparison; 4) measurement equivalence in scales based on sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, language and other cross-cultural factors: 5) compact representation of cost-utility problems; 6) dynamic updates to model predictions as new clinical measures are obtained; 7) sophisticated approaches to modeling change over time. These advantages are particularly applicable to both theoretical and applied research problems in medical decision making.
Whether you want to know how to critique a SEM article, use SEM in your research, or engage a few SEM researchers in some feisty methods discussions, sign up...we'd love to visit with you.
Kristen Berg Case Western Reserve University at MetroHealth Medical Center