POWER ANALYSIS FOR PARAMETER ESTIMATION IN SEM 1 Power Analysis for Parameter Estimation in Structural Equation Modeling: A Discussion and Tutorial Y. Andre Wang Mijke Rhemtulla University of California, Davis In press at Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science Correspondence should be addressed to Y. Andre Wang, Department of Psychology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, email:
[email protected]. POWER ANALYSIS FOR PARAMETER ESTIMATION IN SEM 2 Abstract Despite the widespread and rising popularity of structural equation modeling (SEM) in psychology, there is still much confusion surrounding how to choose an appropriate sample size for SEM. Currently available guidance primarily consists of sample size rules of thumb that are not backed up by research, and power analyses for detecting model misfit. Missing from most current practices is power analysis to detect a target effect (e.g., a regression coefficient between latent variables). In this paper we (a) distinguish power to detect model misspecification from power to detect a target effect, (b) report the results of a simulation study on power to detect a target regression coefficient in a 3-predictor latent regression model, and (c) introduce a Shiny app, pwrSEM, for user-friendly power analysis for detecting target effects in structural equation models. Keywords: power analysis, structural equation modeling, simulation, latent variables POWER ANALYSIS FOR PARAMETER ESTIMATION IN SEM 3 Power Analysis for Parameter Estimation in Structural Equation Modeling: A Discussion and Tutorial Structural equation modeling (SEM) is increasingly popular as a tool to model multivariate relations and to test psychological theories (e.g., Bagozzi, 1980; Hershberger, 2003; MacCallum & Austin, 2000).