Syllabus: Overview of Latent Variable Models

UNC SOCI 326 section 5 (1 credit)

Instructors: Ken Bollen (bollen@unc.edu) and Jane Zavisca (janez@samsi.info)

Office Hours: By appointment

Fall 2004

Thursdays 4:30-6:00

Room 203 at the National Institute of Statistical Sciences,

Research Triangle Park , http://www.niss.org/

This course provides an overview of latent variable models that are common in the social sciences.  It is designed to introduce students to a variety of statistical models that make use of latent or unobserved variables, including factor analysis, latent trait and latent class models, and structural equation models.  The instructors and guest speakers will lecture on the various models and take student questions, followed by class discussion and/or student presentations.  Technical and substantive readings will further explain the models and provide examples of concrete applications. 

In addition to attending lectures and reading background materials, students taking the course for credit will apply one of the types of models covered in the course to a data set of their choice, and make a 15 minute presentation on their findings to the class.

Course Schedule and Draft Reading List

9/16. Organizational Meeting

9/23. Introduction to Latent Variables

Bollen, Kenneth. “Latent Variables in Psychology and the Social Sciences,” Annual Review of Psychology 2002, 53, 605-634.

9/30 Exploratory Factor Analysis (meet until 6:30)

Tucker, L. and MacCallum, R.  Exploratory Factor Analysis (unpublished manuscript), Chapter 1.  Note: entire book manuscript is available for free at http://www.unc.edu/~rcm/book/factornew.htm.

Joreskog, K.G. “Basic Ideas of Factor and Component Analysis,” in Magidson, J. (ed.) Advances in Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Models.  Cambriges , Mass. : Abt Books, 1979.

10/21. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (meet until 6:30)

Dillon, W. and Goldstein, M. Multivariate Analysis: Methods and Applications.  New York : Wiley, 1984: Chapter 3.

Green, Donald et al. “Measuring Gay Populations and Antigay Hate Crime,” Social Science Quarterly 2001, 82(2): 281-296.

Fabrigar, L. R., Wegener, D. T., MacCallum, R. C., & Strahan, E. J. “Evaluating the Use of Exploratory Factor Analysis in Psychological Research,” Psychological Methods 1999, 4, 272-299.

10/28, 11/4 Latent Class Analysis

Magidson, Jay and Vermunt, Jeroen.”A Nontechnical Introduction to Latent Class Models,” Statistical Innovations White Paper #1, 2002.

Magidson, Jay and Vermunt, Jeroen. “Latent Class Factor and Cluster Models, Bi-Plots, and Related Graphical Displays,” Sociological Methodology 2001, 31.

Gerber, Theodore. “Market, State, or Don’t Know? Education, Economic Ideology, and Voting in Contemporary Russia ,” Social Forces 2000, 79(2): 477-521.

11/11 Item Response Theory (Latent Trait Analysis).  Guest Speaker (Edwards)

Thissen, D. and Orlando , M. “Item Response Theory for Items Scored in Two Categories,” in Dl Thissen and H. Wainer (eds.), Test Scoring, Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2001.

Pastor, Dena. “The Use of Multilevel Item Response Theory Modeling in Applied Research: An Illustration,” Applied Measurement in Education 2003, 16(3): 223-243.

11/18, 12/2. Structural Equation Modeling

Bollen, Ken. Structural Equations with Latent Variables. New York : Wiley, 1989: Ch. 2 & 8.

12/9. General Issues in Latent Variable Models