Contact Information:
Dr. Keith A. Markus
kmarkus@aol.com
212-237-8784
Room 2127N
Psychology Department, John Jay College

Teaching Assistant:
Wen Gu
wgu@jjay.cuny.edu

Course Description: 

Additional Reading:
    Freedman, D. A. (1991). Statistical models and shoe leather. Sociological Methodology, 21, 291-313
    Hayduk, L., Cummings, G., Stratkotter, R., Nimmo, M., Grygoryev, K., Dosman, D., Gillespie, M., Pazderka-Robinson, H., & Boadu, K. (2003). Pearl's d-separation: One more step into causal thinking.
    Markus, K. A. (2006) Structural Equation Modeling.  In S. G. Rogelberg (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, (pp 773 - 776).  Thousand Oaks, CA:  Sage Publications.
    Markus, K. A. (2010). Structural Equations and Causal Explanations: Some Challenges for Causal SEM. Structural Equation Modeling, 17, 654-676.
    Rogers, J. L. (2010). The epistemology of mathematical and statistical modeling: A quiet methodological revolution. American Psychologist, 65, 1-12.

Handouts (posted on Blackboard):
    SEM glossary
    SEM matrix algebra basics

Required Software:

Installation:
1. Point your web browser to the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN).
2. From the sidebar menu on the left, near the top, click Mirrors and select something geographically close (e.g., Pennsylvania). The same page will reload from a closer server.
3. Select Windows (if that is your operating system), if you use an Apple computer, your version of R differs somewhat and I am not familiar with it.
4. Click base. Then download and run the newest version installation file (currently R-2.9.1-win32.exe). Further installation instructions are provided on the CRAN web page.
5. Once installation is compete, start R. You will see a window with a '>' prompt. At the prompt you may type the following command to test the installation.

> demo(graphics)

You will be prompted to hit Enter several times as you move through the demo. A series of graphs should appear in a separate window inside the R window if R has been installed correctly.

6. On the Packages menu in R, select Install Packages. You will be prompted with a list of mirror sites that opens in a separate window. Again, pick something close (e.g., USA PA or USA PA2).
7. Momentarily, you will be prompted with a list of packages in a window similar to the mirror site window that you just used. Click sem. (Very close to the bottom of the list.)
8. After some brief chugging, you should have a message in your main R window indicating that the sem package installed correctly.
9. You can test the installation by typing the following command at the R prompt.

>library(sem)
>?sem

This should open a new window outside of the main R window with a help file on the sem() function. At the top, it should say General Structural Equation Models in large blue letters.
10. Return to the R console window where you type commands. At the prompt, enter the following command. When prompted, choose not to save the workspace image. This will close R.

>q()

Repeat steps 6-9 for the lavaan package. Use library(lavaan) and ?lavaan to test the installation.

Why, one might wonder, not use popular commercially available SEM programs such as LISREL, EQS, AMOS or Mplus? Because they are very expensive and free student versions typically only have the ability to run very limited models. Once you learn to use the free packages above, you will be in a better position to evaluate which SEM software you might want to purchase. You will also have a sufficient foundation to make the adjustment to alternative SEM software.

Homework:  You will need to run examples using R and turn in printed output to demonstrate that you have done this.  As such, you need to have a PC capable of running R, access to the Internet, and a printer.  Homework will generally involve small tasks.  However, as with any other new skill, give yourself plenty of extra time to get confused, muck around by trial and error, and eventually figure out what you did wrong. (Running the Mac version of R is not recommended because it differs from the Windows version and I cannot answer questions about it.)

Turn in homework assignments at the beginning of class on the days noted on the schedule.  The assignments may not make sense to you until you cover the material to which they refer. The specific assignments will appear on Blackboard.

Grading:  Each of the four examination modules is worth 15% of your total grade.  That leaves 40% for the homework assignments.  Letter grades will be assigned as indicated below.
 
 

Special Needs:
To request accommodations please contact the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs (Room 7301 Graduate Center; (212) 817-7400). Information about accommodations can be found in the Graduate Center Student Handbook 05-06, pp. 51-52).

Academic Honesty:    
The Graduate Center of The City University of New York is committed to the highest standards of academic honesty. Acts of academic dishonesty include—but are not limited to—plagiarism, (in drafts, outlines, and examinations, as well as final papers), cheating, bribery, academic fraud, sabotage of research materials, the sale of academic papers, and the falsification of records. An individual who engages in these or related activities or who knowingly aids another who engages in them is acting in an academically dishonest manner and will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the bylaws and procedures of The Graduate Center and the Board of Trustees of The City University of New York.  

Each member of the academic community is expected to give full, fair, and formal credit to any and all sources that have contributed to the formulation of ideas, methods, interpretations, and findings. The absence of such formal credit is an affirmation representing that the work is fully the writer’s. The term “sources” includes, but is not limited to, published or unpublished materials, lectures and lecture notes, computer programs, mathematical and other symbolic formulations, course papers, examinations, theses, dissertations, and comments offered in class or informal discussions, and includes electronic media. The representation that such work of another person is the writer’s own is plagiarism.

Care must be taken to document the source of any ideas or arguments. If the actual words of a source are used, they must appear within quotation marks. In cases that are unclear, the writer must take due care to avoid plagiarism.

The source should be cited whenever:
(a) a text is quoted verbatim
(b) data gathered by another are presented in diagrams or tables
(c) the results of a study done by another are used
(d) the work or intellectual effort of another is paraphrased by the writer

    Because the intent to deceive is not a necessary element in plagiarism, careful note taking and record keeping are essential in order to avoid unintentional plagiarism.

    For additional information, please consult “Avoiding and Detecting Plagiarism,” available in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, the Provost’s Office, or at http://web.gc.cuny.edu/provost/pdf/AvoidingPlagiarism.pdf.

(From The Graduate Center Student Handbook 05-06, pp. 36-37)