How Do I Determine if My Data Is Not Normally Distributed (Non-Normal)?

In the Analysis Properties function , the output tab has a function called “Test for nor- mality and outliers”. After selecting this function, run the analysis. In the output, there is a link called “Assessment of normality”.This output will give the minimum and maximum values for each variable along with the skewness and kurtosis

What if I Get an Error Message in the Analysis That Says “Iteration Limit Reached”?

The default iteration limit in the analysis function of AMOS is 50. If you get an error message that says the iteration limit has been reached and the analysis did not run to completion, it usually means that you are having an issue with the error term of an indicator or construct.You can increase

Introduction to Mediation with SEM Model

Up to this point, we have focused on how one construct can directly influence another con- struct in a SEM model. Let’s now examine how the influence between two constructs may take an indirect path through a third variable called a mediator. In these situations, the third variable will intervene on the influence of

How to Test for Mediation with SEM Model

The research by Baron and Kenny (1986) was one of the fundamental frameworks for how to test mediation. Over the years, research has refined their initial work on testing media- tion. I think it is a worthy pursuit to discuss where mediation testing started and where it has progressed today. Baron and Kenny (1986)

How Do I Report the Results of My Mediation Test with SEM Model?

Your mediation test should always compliment the findings from the structural analysis. The structural results will let the reader know the specifics of the A path and B path. When pre- senting the mediation part of the analysis, it is a good idea to present the indirect effect, the lower and upper bound confidence

Can I Use a Correlation Matrix or Summary Data to Test Mediation in AMOS?

Up to this point, we have tested mediation using the raw data. AMOS will allow you to test mediation with a correlation/covariance matrix as your input, but it will require some addi- tional steps. For simplicity, let’s use our existing example, except we are going to test for mediation with a path model that

What if I Have Multiple Mediators in My SEM Model?

As stated earlier, when you request indirect effects in AMOS, this will give you all the pos- sible indirect effects in your model. If you have a single mediator, this function is quite handy, but if you have multiple possible mediators in a model, this function can be problematic. The reason for this problem

How Do I Test Serial Mediation in SEM?

Serial mediation, also called chain mediation, is where the influence of the independent vari- able flows through multiple mediators before impacting the dependent variable. Serial media- tion often takes place where the first mediator will have a direct relationship with a second mediator before ultimately having a relationship to the final dependent variable.With this

Setting the Seed in Bootstrapping for Mediation in SEM

Bootstrapping is a technique where numerous samples with replacement are drawn in order to determine the confidence interval of an indirect effect. Every time you run a bootstrap, you have a different potential set of samples and your results could slightly change.When you request a sample of at least 5,000, these differences will be

Introduction to Moderation with SEM Model

Moderation is where the direct influence of an independent variable on a dependent variable is altered or changed because of a third variable.This third variable, called the “moderator”, can influ- ence the strength (and sometimes sign) of the relationship from the independent variable to the dependent variable. A moderator is said to “interact” with

Probing the Interaction for Moderation with SEM Model

In our moderation example, we can see that the interaction is significant and positive, but we do not know much else about the interaction or ultimately how the moderator influences the relationship from the independent variable to the dependent variable. Next, we can “probe the interaction”, which means we are going to explore how

Testing Moderation in a Full Structural Model

The previous examples describe how to test for moderation in a path model, or specifically, with composite variables. What if you want to test moderation in a full structural model? There are three different ways that moderation can be assessed in a full structural model. These three ways are (1) the mixed model method,

How Do I Present My Moderation Results of SEM Model?

When you are presenting results for a moderation test in a table format, it is a good idea to include the following results with the presentation of the structural regression weights of the constructs. There is no need to have a dedicated table for moderation when it can complement the structural results. Specifically, for

Mean Center vs. Z Score in Moderation Testing in SEM Model

Instead of creating a new variable where you are subtracting the variable’s mean, SPSS gives you another option to center the data by “standardizing” the indicators (or converting it to a Z score). With mean centering, you are changing the mean value, but the standard deviation and scale remain the same.This is not the

Moderation Testing With a Categorical Moderator in SEM Model

You can use a categorical variable as a moderator in AMOS. The way to test a categori- cal moderator is the exact same process used to perform a two group analysis that was discussed in Chapter 5. For instance, let’s say we have a categorical moderator that cap- tures the customer’s previous experience with

Calculating Categorical Moderation via Pairwise Parameter Comparison in SEM Model

With a categorical moderator, you can also assess moderation by a function called the pairwise parameter comparison in AMOS. With this method, you still have to form the groups and label the parameters, but you do not have to individually constrain the relationship of interest. The pairwise parameter comparison will show you all the

Moderated Mediation With a Continuous Moderator in SEM Model

In more complex models, you may have a mediation model that also has a moderator on one of the indirect paths. Not only are you trying to determine if mediation is present, but you are also trying to see if a moderator is changing the strength of the indirect effect.The easiest way to tackle

How Do I Report the Results of My Moderated Mediation Test with SEM?

There is a lot of information to present in a moderated mediation test. Here is one example of how to present your results.You need to include the structural results, the tests of the indirect effect, the probing of the indirect effect, and the index of moderated mediation. Example 7.2: Source: Thakkar, J.J. (2020). “Procedural

Moderated Mediation With a Categorical Moderator in SEM Model

In the preceding example, we explored moderated mediation with a moderator that was continuous. Let’s now examine how moderated mediation is performed when the mod- erator is a categorical variable. With a categorical moderator, we will not be forming an interaction term but will be assessing the moderator with a two group analysis. Let’s

Binary Categorical Variables in SEM

AMOS has the assumption that the dependent variables are continuous, but you can use cat- egorical variables as independent constructs in an AMOS model. The only way this can be done is by dummy coding the categorical variable into a “0” and “1”. Once dummy coding takes place in SPSS, we can use this