ABSTRACT
The introductory chapter of the book will initially describe what is structural equation modeling (SEM) and explain the fundamental basics of the analysis by describing how the covariance matrix is used in the analysis. Next, a discussion is presented on the confirmatory approach of structural equation modeling and why theory should drive all SEM conceptualizations. The assumptions of SEM are then presented along with a section that briefly describes different SEM software programs and why this book will focus on using AMOS moving forward.
The back half of the chapter provides a detailed explanation of the diagrams used in SEM along with the symbols used to represent unobserved constructs, indicators, and error terms. Structural and measurement relationships in SEM are introduced along with a discussion of how unobserved constructs are measured with single or multiple indicators. The end of the chapter talks about the use of Greek notation by numerous software programs in the conceptualization and analysis of SEM models. This discussion provides a detailed explanation of Greek notation and why it’s important to understand this notation even though AMOS does not use Greek notation in the presentation of results.
