A primer for soft modeling
By: R. Frank Falk & Nancy B. Miller.
Contributors: Miller, Nancy B., 1938-
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: University of Akron Press
Published: 1992
Place of publication: Akron, Ohio
Language: eng
Number of pages: 103
Subjects: Social sciences -- Mathematical models.
Description: A PRIMER FOR SOFT MODELING 
is a guide to the 'soft modeling' approach to structural equation modeling that relies on a computer application strategy. The theoretical as well as practical requirements for soft modeling (partial least squares estimation procedures) are different from those of other modeling procedures because the basic assumptions about data are less stringent. 
This fundamental difference enables path models to be analyzed with soft modeling techniques that are rejected by many popularly-used programs. Because soft modeling procedures facilite analysis of data with less stringent measurement requirements, it represents a modeling system that can be used by most social and behavioral scientists.

Written by authors who teach structural equation modeling, as well as undergraduate statistics, this book presents soft modeling in ways that students and researchers cand readly comprehend, demonstrating the applicability of this new modeling approach to social science data. 
As a practical guide to latent variable path analysis, the basic 'how-to's' of modeling are explained - how to configure research questions, how to prepare data, how to construct an LVPLS computer run, how to interpret the results, and how to present the findings. Basic modeling concepts are presented in an accurate yet non-technical manner through-out the text, and the non-mathematical reader has been kept in mind.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-99) and indexes.
Table of contents: title: Making the case for PLS
pagenum: 1
label: 1; title: Causation and Prediction
pagenum: 3
label: 1.1; title: Violations of Assunptions: causation and prediction
pagenum: 7
label: 1.2; title: Theoretical conditions
pagenum: 7
label: 1.2.1; title: Measurement conditions
pagenum: 9
label: 1.2.2; title: Distributional conditions
pagenum: 10
label: 1.2.3; title: Practical conditions
pagenum: 11
label: 1.2.4; title: A digression on Latent Variables
pagenum: 15
label: 1.3; title: Getting Started
pagenum: 18
label: 2; title: RAM Definitions for Latent Variable Path Analysis
pagenum: 18
label: 2.1; title: Example data
pagenum: 20
label: 2.2; title: Drawing nomograms
pagenum: 21
label: 2.3; title: On the estimation process
pagenum: 28
label: 2.4; title: On getting started
pagenum: 30
label: 2.5; title: Analyzing Different Types of Data
pagenum: 32
label: 3; title: A digression on cross products
pagenum: 33
label: 3.1; title: Setting up the data
pagenum: 33
label: 3.2; title: Annotated SPSSX command file
pagenum: 34
label: 3.3; title: The output matrices
pagenum: 38
label: 3.4; title: Running LVPLS
pagenum: 40
label: 4; title: Building the PLS instruction file
pagenum: 41
label: 4.1; title: Example command file
pagenum: 42
label: 4.2; title: Common problems
pagenum: 48
label: 4.3; title: Error messages
pagenum: 50
label: 4.4; title: Finding the results
pagenum: 53
label: 5; title: The inner model
pagenum: 53
label: 5.1; title: The outer model
pagenum: 56
label: 5.2; title: Interpreting the results
pagenum: 62
label: 6; title: Outer-directed block diagnostics
pagenum: 62
label: 6.1; title: Inner-directed block diagnostics
pagenum: 66
label: 6.2; title: A digression on reordering categories
pagenum: 69
label: 6.3; title: The inner model
pagenum: 71
label: 6.4; title: A digression on supressor effects and redundancy
pagenum: 75
label: 6.5; title: A digression on model trimming
pagenum: 77
label: 6.6; title: Rules of thumb for evaluating models
pagenum: 78
label: 6.7; title: Summary indices
pagenum: 82
label: 6.8; title: Nested-sequence model comparison
pagenum: 83
label: 6.9; title: Presenting the results
pagenum: 86
label: 7; title: Format the presentation
pagenum: 86
label: 7.1; title: Stability of estimates
pagenum: 91
label: 7.2; title: Conclusion
pagenum: 92
label: 7.3; pagenum: 95
title: References