How to Use Structural Equation Modeling in Medical Education Research: A Brief Guide

This article outlines the basic tenets of SEM, principles of model creation, identification, estimation, and model fit to data, and the use of SEM in medical education research and summarizes an example of SEM to test a hypothetical model.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Structural equationmodeling (SEM) is a family of statistical techniques used for the analysis of multivariate data to measure latent variables and their interrelationships. SEM has potential to advance theory and research in medical education. PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to introduce SEM to medical education researchers and provide procedural information for applying SEM. METHODS: We outline the basic tenets of SEM, principles of model creation, identification, estimation, and model fit to data, and the use of SEM in medical education research. RESULTS: Although it is a powerful statistical research tool, SEM has had only limited use in medical education research. We explicate a five-step procedure for applying SEM to research problems and summarize an example of SEM to test a hypothetical model. CONCLUSIONS: Notwithstanding some pitfalls, SEM does provide promise for testing complex, integrated theoretical models and advance research in medical education.