ERIC Number: EJ934205
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Jun
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1082-989X
EISSN: N/A
Accuracy in Parameter Estimation for Targeted Effects in Structural Equation Modeling: Sample Size Planning for Narrow Confidence Intervals
Lai, Keke; Kelley, Ken
Psychological Methods, v16 n2 p127-148 Jun 2011
In addition to evaluating a structural equation model (SEM) as a whole, often the model parameters are of interest and confidence intervals for those parameters are formed. Given a model with a good overall fit, it is entirely possible for the targeted effects of interest to have very wide confidence intervals, thus giving little information about the magnitude of the population targeted effects. With the goal of obtaining sufficiently narrow confidence intervals for the model parameters of interest, sample size planning methods for SEM are developed from the accuracy in parameter estimation approach. One method plans for the sample size so that the expected confidence interval width is sufficiently narrow. An extended procedure ensures that the obtained confidence interval will be no wider than desired, with some specified degree of assurance. A Monte Carlo simulation study was conducted that verified the effectiveness of the procedures in realistic situations. The methods developed have been implemented in the MBESS package in R so that they can be easily applied by researchers. (Contains 4 figures, 11 tables and 13 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Accuracy, Structural Equation Models, Computation, Sample Size, Monte Carlo Methods, Statistical Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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