Introduction to Structural Equation Modeling (Achtung: Geänderter Terminplan!)

Institution: Universität Hamburg, Fakultät Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften

Studiengang: Graduate School

Dozent/in: Dr. Elmar Schlüter (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin)

Termin(e): (Achtung: Geänderter Terminplan!)
Do., 17.02.: 10:00 – 17:00 Uhr (1 Stunde Mittagspause)
Fr., 18.02.: 10:00 – 17:00 Uhr (1 Stunde Mittagspause)

Sa., 19.02.: 09:00 – 13:00 Uhr

Raum: Universität Hamburg, Fakultät Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Raum WiWi 1005 (Von-Melle-Park 5)

Max. Teilnehmerzahl: 15

Semester-Wochen-Stunden: k.A.

Credit Points: 2

Unterrichtssprache: deutsch

Beschreibung:

Anmeldefrist: 17.01.-04.02.11 (per Mail bei der WiSo-Geschäftsstelle, siehe Anmeldeformular)

Outline: Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is becoming one of the standard instruments of empirical social science research. The main advantage of SEM is that these models are suited to empirically test complex theoretical assumptions in detail.

The primary objective of this course is to give participants an introduction into the method and provide them with the basic understanding and technical skills necessary for modeling structural equations and interpreting the results, using cross-sectional data. Core topics of the course will be:

  • confirmatory factor analysis, path models, full SEMs
  • specification of different models and evaluation of model fit
  • multiple group comparisons.

The course is designed for application-oriented participants, intending to provide a broad overview of SEM, but it is also suitable for users who are already familiar with the basics of SEM offering them the possibility to enlarge their knowledge and/or practical skills in the field. Participants need to have a basic comprehension of statistical methods and a minimum experience in multivariate data analysis (factor analysis and OLS regression).

To facilitate the transfer of theoretical knowledge into own research, a large part of the course will be devoted to systematic exercises employing freely available survey data. Throughout the course, we will use the Mplus software.

Elmar Schlueter is senior researcher at the Social Science Research Center Berlin, Germany. He completed his PhD as Fellow of the DFG Research Training School “Group-focused Enmity”, at the Universities of Bielefeld, Giessen, and Marburg, where he also teaches courses on research methods.