SEMantics
a structural equation modelling discussion group
SEMantics is a discussion group and seminar series about all things structural equation modelling (SEM). We meet monthly to discuss:
- SEM applications in psychology, psychiatry, social science and epidemiology
- SEM methodological advantages and challenges
- Recent developments, innovations, and new techniques
- Best practice (and cautionary tales)
SEM is a powerful technique for answering complex research questions involving multivariable, multiple regression equations. This includes questions about mediation, moderation, identifying unobserved latent classes in our data, or exploring longitudinal relationships. These questions can be answered within the SEM framework, a flexible and powerful framework for understanding our data.
Why join SEMantics?
SEMantics brings together like-minded researchers using SEM to answer research questions of interest. The group aims to share knowledge, provide peer support, and enable networking on SEM-related topics. Attendees should have at least a basic understanding and preferably some experience of using SEM. Over time, we hope all attendees will deliver an informal presentation, which could be about ongoing research, software, or discussion of a published paper.
If this sounds interesting, please click below to complete a short sign-up form:
If you’d like to give a talk, please complete the form below and we’ll be in touch:
Programme
2024
| Date | Speaker | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| February 20st | Robert Vaughan | Athletic expertise in sport and exercise psychology: A latent variable approach |
| March 19th | Isabella Badini | Socioeconomic status and risk for child psychopathology: exploring gene–environment interaction in the presence of gene–environment correlation using extended families in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Birth Cohort Study |
| April 16th | Valerie Polad | Mediation analysis using saturated and restricted models |
| No talk in May | ||
| June 18th | Ozan Aksoy | Structural equation models for panel data: an application to religious attendance and prosocial behaviour |
| July 16th | Emel Yorganci | Latent class and transition analysis using electronic health records |
| No talk in August | ||
| No talk in September | ||
| October 15th | Laura Bechtiger | Moving in and out of family aggression across adolescence – findings from a latent transition approach |
| November 19th | Gregory R. Hancock | nmax: Practical sample size planning for multiple linear regression, measured variable path analysis, and beyond |
| No talk in December | ||
2025
| Date | Speaker | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| January 21st | Francesca Mele | Social origins, school engagement, and NEET experiences during the school-to-work transition: An application of latent interaction terms, moderated mediation and a counterfactual approach in SEM |
| February 18th | Poppy Grimes | Genetic architectures of adolescent depression trajectories in longitudinal population cohorts |