Modeling Relationships
Modeling is a process for using mathematics to structure complex relationships. The modeling uses structural equations to estimate the relationship among the variables. The purpose of these pages is to describe how one can interpret a model. Models can take many different forms, and output can vary. Most output is in the form of tables which can run for many pages. Use of that output is left to quantitative researchers. Access to its information by others is best through a figure or diagram that includes the significant relationships.The diagram below is a very complex model. We will not try to understand this diagram as a starting point. Our examination will start with part of this model, the relationship between two variables.
Each of the rectangles in this diagram are measured variables. The circles are a component of unmeasured errors required for the structural equations to converge mathematically.
