Bayesian evaluation of informative hypotheses in SEM using Mplus: a black bear story
Date
2013Author
Hoijtink, Herbert
Verhoeven, Marjolein
Van de Schoot, Rens
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Half in jest we use a story about a black bear to illustrate that there are some
discrepancies between the formal use of the p-value and the way it is often used
in practice. We argue that more can be learned from data by evaluating
informative hypotheses, than by testing the traditional null hypothesis. All
criticisms of classical null hypothesis testing aside, the best argument for
evaluating informative hypotheses is that many researchers want to evaluate
their expectations directly, but have been unable to do so because the statistical
tools were not yet available. It will be shown that a Bayesian model selection
procedure can be used to evaluate informative hypotheses in structural
equation models using the software Mplus. In the current paper we introduce
the methodology using a real-life example taken from the field of
developmental psychology about depressive symptoms in adolescence and
provide a step-by-step description so that the procedure becomes more
comprehensible for applied researchers. As this paper illustrates, this
methodology is ready to be used by any researcher within the social sciences
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10394/17863http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/pedp20/10/1
DOI:10.1080/17405629.2012.732719
Collections
- Faculty of Humanities [2033]