UCF’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management hosted its first structural equation modeling (SEM) Boot Camp July 9-11 for faculty, staff and graduate students. The instructor was Dr. James Gaskin, an expert on advanced multivariate statistics for academic research.

The purpose of the boot camp was to provide a foundation for the concepts and mechanics involved in testing theories in social sciences using structural equation modeling. The seminar focused primarily on mechanics – learning the statistical procedures and tools rather than the concepts. Topics addressed included:

  • Factor Analysis (EFA and CFA) – Validity, reliability, adequacy, common method bias, measurement invariance, model fit
  • Causal modeling with SEM – Multi‐group moderation, interaction (moderation), mediation, control variables, model fit
  • Cluster Analysis – TwoStep, k‐means and discriminant analysis

    • “We were delighted to offer this career development opportunity to the entire UCF community to improve their analytical skills,” said Dr. Abraham Pizam, dean of Rosen College. “I, myself, wanted to refresh my memory of certain techniques that I learned years ago, but have not used much over the years.”

    A total of 37 people attended the SEM Boot Camp, including Rosen College faculty, staff and graduate students as well as faculty and staff from other UCF departments. Attendees received a certificate of achievement at the end of the three-day boot camp.

    Rosen College plans to host more boot camps for the UCF community focused on different levels of analysis, ranging from simple to more advanced techniques. If you’re interested in being notified about future events, please e-mail Asli.Tasci@ucf.edu.