ABSTRACT
Structural equation modeling (SEM) provides a framework to investigate the complex multivariate relationships. The possibilities in a SEM analysis seems to be unlimited, and the flexibility of the approach makes SEM a very attractive analytic framework, leading to an increase in the use of SEM in L2 research. A more detailed sample analysis will be provided using two different software packages, LISREL and AMOS; LISREL, being one of the earlier and well-developed packages, and AMOS, being part of the IBM SPSS family of packages. One of the advantages of SEM is that one can test the fit of the hypothesized model against one's data, and one can also compare and test the difference in fit between the one-factor model and a three-factor model. Gu investigated the structure of scores on the Internet-based Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL-iBT). The chapter also focuses on model relationships between measured variables and latent variables, but ignores the possibility of modeling mean scores.
