For student of the Interuniversity Graduate School of Psychometrics ond Sociometrics a two-days postdoctoral course on Structural Equation Modeling will be offered in February 2007. Details on the contents of the course and subscription procedures, as well as an overview of upcoming courses and seminars can be found online.
The course is given by Anne Boomsma, and will, in principle, be
held at the University of Leiden. The exact location has still to be set.
Contents and Objectives of the Course
The purpose of this course is to provide a theoretical
introduction to the analysis of covariance structures, or
structural equation modeling as it is called, and to gain
practical experience with this type of modeling using LISREL
software.
For the description and analysis of theory-based directed
relationships between several variables simultaneously, it is
possible to construct models that can be visualized as path
diagrams. The first aim of the researcher is to formulate an
underlying structure of relations between variables (latent
variables or hypothetical constructs) on the basis of
theoretical considerations. By means of a random sample of
covariances between observed variables, the next step is to
examine the discrepancy between the postulated model and these
sample data. The set of directed relations between the
variables in such a model, also known as a covariance structure,
may be regarded as a complex `regression model'. The observed
variables, being indicators of latent variables in such models,
may be subject to measurement error, however. Social scientists use these
types of models more and more frequently, whether justified from
a statistical point of view or not. The LISREL (LInear
Structural RELations) program, together with its preprocessor
PRELIS, supports these analyses.
The course offers an introduction to the theoretical backgrounds of
the statistical analysis of structural equation models. By means
of practical assignments the participants may learn how to
construct covariance structure models, how to work with the
LISREL and PRELIS program, and how to interpret the results of
such analyses.
Preliminary Reading
Participants who want to prepare themselves might start to read abstracts (sheets of the lectures) in English from a Dutch manuscript of Boomsma, A. (2006). Covariantiestructuuuranalyse. Ongepubliceerd manuscript, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Vakgroep Statistiek & Meettheorie.
These abstracts will all be sent to the participants in advance.
Section 16.1 (page 16-4f.) of that manuscript also provides an advice – in English – on preliminary reading (sent to participants):
Chapter 2 of Bollen (1989), for example, would be a good start.
In addition, one might take a look into the English version of Chapter 15 (Reporting of Structural Equation Analyses) of Boomsma's manuscript, which will be sent as well as a separate paper to the participants.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
09.00 - 09.45 Identification problems; estimation methods
10.00 - 10.45 Exercises
11.00 - 12.00 Discussion exercises
12.00 - 13.00 Lunch
13.00 - 13.30 Model evaluation and modification
13.30 - 14.45 Exercises
15.15 - 16.00 How to deal with ordinal, categorical variables?
16.15 - 17.00 Reporting analyses of covariance structures, or How to
publish?
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Update: January 24, 2007