Lisrel 8: Structural Equation Modeling With the Simplis Command Language

Abstract

This text introduces the SIMPLIS command language for structural equation modelling. It is written for students and researchers with limited mathematical and statistical training who need to use structural equation models to analyze their data, and for those who have tried but failed to learn the LISREL command language. It is not a textbook on factor analysis, structural equations or latent variable models, although there are many examples of such in the book. Rather, it is assumed that the reader is already familiar with the basic ideas and principles of these types of analyses and techniques. The main objective is to demonstrate that structural equation modelling can be done easily without the technical jargon with which it has been associated. The SIMPLIS language shifts the focus away from the technical question How to do it, so that researchers can concentrate on the question, What does it all mean? Although the SIMPLIS language makes it easier to specify models and to carry out the analysis, the substantive specification and interpretation remain the same as with the LISREL command language.