GMS-CDC

An advance training course on research data analysis.

We have a pleasure to invite you to participate in a training workshop on “Introduction to Structural Equation Modeling using AMOS” organized by the Hanoi School of Public Health (HSPH) Monday, 2nd – Friday, 6th March, 2009 , Hanoi School of Public Health.

The principal instructor of this course will be Prof. Everarda Cunningham, Associate Dean of Associate Dean of Higher Education Lilydale Swinburne University of Technology in Australia. The course is designed in the practical way requiring a lot of computer practices. The course will be in English.

This workshop is supported by the Health Research for Development Initiative (HRDI)* program with the aims of providing as an introductory, applied course in the use of Structural Equation Models (SEM) using the Amos 17 program. Structural Equation Modeling is used widely by researchers in a diverse array of fields to find and test complex relationships amongst observed (measured) variables and latent (unobserved) variables and amongst the latent variables themselves. Structural Equation Modeling subsumes other analytical techniques such as regression, path analysis, factor analysis, and canonical correlation.

Specific Objectives:

Throughout the course a number of issues related to fitting Structural Equation Models will be addressed. These include:

• Model specification, identification and estimation
• Assessing model fit (goodness-of-fit criteria)
• Dealing with problem data and difficult models (including missing data, small samples, ordinal and/or dichotomous variables, non-normal data, constraining parameters, non-positive definite matrices, negative error variances, unidentified and inadmissible models and recognising equivalent models).

Workshop contents

The course is divided into two parts:

• Part 1 covers the fundamentals of Structural Equation Modeling. Topics include the advantages of SEM over conventional analytical techniques, the fundamentals underlying SEM and the use of path diagrams and SEM notation. This is followed by an introduction to the use of AMOS17 (the software package used in this course to estimate structural relationships).
• Part 2 of the course looks at the three types of Structural Equation Models: causal models for directly observed variables, measurement models and confirmatory factor analysis, and structural models with latent variables.

Participants will be provided with instruction and practical experience in the use of AMOS to estimate parameters implied by the various types of Structural Equation Models. Detailed notes with worked examples and references will be provided as a basis for both the lecture and hands-on computing aspect of the course. Furthermore, participants will be given an opportunity on the final day of the course to commence some analysis of their own data. While participants are encouraged to bring a data set with them, this is not essential since other data sets will be made available. Participants wishing to bring their own data should bring an SPSS (*.sav) file or an Excel (*.xls) file.

Course requirements:

• Participants MUST have completed an introductory course in statistics or have equivalent experience. Familiarity with multiple regression and factor analysis is highly desirable, as is experience with a statistical data analysis package on PC or Macintosh. However, it is assumed that participants have had little or no experience with Structural Equation Modelling programs such as AMOS, EQS, or LISREL.
• Participants are required to bring their own laptop computers.

Eligible Participants: Vietnamese public health and social sciences researchers who already obtained a master degree are encouraged to apply.

Please fill in the application form Training Workshop on Introduction to Structural Equation Modeling using AMOS (44 kB) and send it back to Mr. Nguyen Minh Hoang by February 20th 2009 to the following address:
Mr. Nguyen Minh Hoang, HRDI Program assistant,
Address: Hanoi School of Public Health, 138 Giang Vo Street, Ba Dinh, Hanoi
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Phone: 046 2662349
Mobile: 0914 341 349

Note:
(*) HRDI (Health Research for Development Initiative) is a partnership program between Hanoi School of Public Health (HSPH), University of Medicine and Pharmacy (UMP) in Ho Chi Minh City, and The Population Council in Vietnam (PCVN). The program support returned fellows who have studied overseas and obtained master’s degrees in public health or health social sciences under two fellowship programs managed funded by the Ford Foundation and the Buffett Foundation to improve their research, teaching and professional skills.