Between the observable and the latent: structural equations models and social research
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15517/sw8xrg13Keywords:
Idealizations, Latent variables, Causal relationships, Scientific theories, Statistical modelsAbstract
Introduction: The development of models and theories addressing sociocultural phenomena has been a challenge for empirical research in Social Sciences. Working with non-experimental and less controllable concepts has made it necessary to create more accurate methodologies for studying non-physical and abstract concepts, among which Structural Equation Models (SEM) are found.
Objective: The aim is to analyze the potential of SEM to enhance the understanding of sociocultural phenomena within disciplines belonging to the Social Sciences.
Method and technique: Initially, a bibliographic review was conducted regarding the origins of SEM. Subsequently, the structure and stages for their construction were detailed, followed by an analysis of the contributions these models offer to social research.
Results: SEM allows for the understanding of complex relationships among variables inherent to social sciences and accounts for measurement errors in data. This enables the simultaneous analysis of multiple dependency relationships, unlike other approaches such as multiple regression or multivariate analysis.
Conclusions: SEM is favorable for investigative activity and fosters the creation of new insights that contribute to the understanding and interpretation of various phenomena. This emphasizes the importance of constantly advancing knowledge related to the inherent complexities of social processes, to unveil the relationship between the observable and the latent.
Downloads
References
Alaminos, Antonio et al. 2015. Introducción a los modelos estructurales en investigación social. Cuenca, Ecuador: Pydlos Ediciones.
Bunge, Mario. 1981. Teoría y realidad. Barcelona, España: Editorial Ariel.
Byrne, Barbara. 1998. Structural equation modeling with LISREL, PRELIS and SIMPLIS. Londres, Inglaterra: Psychology Press.
Casas Guillén, Mercedes. 2002. «Los modelos de ecuaciones estructurales y su aplicación en el Índice Europeo de Satisfacción del Cliente». Ponencia presentada en las X Jornadas Madrid 2002. Asociación Española de Profesores Universitarios de Matemáticas para la Economía y la Empresa, Madrid, España, setiembre.
Cea D’Ancona, María Ángeles. 2002. Análisis multivariable. Teoría y práctica en la investigación social. Madrid, España: Editorial Síntesis.
Cuevas Badallo, Ana, y Oscar Martínez Ortubay. 2011. «Tema 1. Introducción a la noción de ciencia». Manuscrito inédito. Máster Oficial en Estudios Sociales de la Ciencia, Escuela de Ciencia, Centro de Altos Estudios Universitarios (OEI), Madrid, España.
Cupani, Marcos. 2012. «Análisis de Ecuaciones Estructurales: conceptos, etapas de desarrollo y un ejemplo de aplicación». Revista Tesis 1: 186-199. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274716879_Analisis_de_Ecuaciones_Estructurales_conceptos_etapas_de_desarrollo_y_un_ejemplo_de_aplicacion
Ghaleb Marwan y Murat Yaslioglu. 2024. «Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) for Social and Behavioral Sciences Studies: Steps Sequence and Explanation». Journal of Organizational Behavior Review 6(1): 69-108. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377776329_Structural_Equation_Modeling_SEM_for_Social_and_Behavioral_Sciences_Studies_Steps_Sequence_and_Explanation
García Veiga, María Ángeles. 2011. «Análisis causal con ecuaciones estructurales de la satisfacción ciudadana con los servicios municipales». Tesis de maestría inédita, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, España. http://eio.usc.es/pub/mte/descargas/proyectosfinmaster/proyecto_610.pdf
González Martínez, Edgar Santiago. 2018. «Aplicación de un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales en un estudio observacional». Reporte práctico técnico para optar por diplomado, Universidad Veracruzana. https://www.uv.mx/personal/jorggomez/files/2021/11/Gonzalez-Martinez-2018-APLICACION-DE-UN-MODELO-DE-ECUACIONES-ESTRUCTURALES-EN-UN-ESTUDIO-OBSERVACIONAL.pdf
Guevara, Minerva, y Ricardo Valdéz. 2004. «Los modelos en la enseñanza de la química: algunas de las dificultades asociadas a su enseñanza y a su aprendizaje». Educación química 15(3): 243-247. https://doi.org/10.22201/fq.18708404e.2004.3.66181
Gutiérrez Doña, Benicio. 2008. Modelos lineales estructurales: conceptos básicos, ecuaciones y programación con LISREL. San José, Costa Rica: Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas de la Universidad de Costa Rica. https://iip.ucr.ac.cr/sites/default/files/contenido/cuamet2.pdf
Hair, Joseph et al. 2006. Multivariate Data Analysis. 6.a ed. New Jersey, Estados Unidos: Prentice Hall.
Kesteren, Erik-Jan van. 2021. Structural equations with latent variables: computational solutions for modern data problems. Ultrecht, Países Bajos: Utrecht University. https://doi.org/10.33540/130
Laymon, Ronald. 1989. «Applying Idealized Scientific Theories to Engineering». Synthese 81(3): 353-371. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00869321
Manzano Patiño, Abigail Patricia. 2017. «Introducción a los modelos de ecuaciones estructurales». Investigación en Educación Médica 7(25): 67-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riem.2017.11.002
Maruyama, Geoffrey. 1997. Basics of structural equation modeling. Londres, Inglaterra: Sage Publications.
Medrano, Leonardo Adrián, y Roger Muñoz Navarro. 2017. «Aproximación Conceptual y Práctica a los Modelos de Ecuaciones Estructurales». Revista Digital de Investigación en Docencia Universitaria 11(1): 219-239. http://dx.doi.org/10.19083/ridu.11.486
Rigo, Daiana Yamila, y Danilo Donolo. 2018. «Modelos de ecuaciones estructurales: usos en investigación psicológica y educativa». Revista Interamericana de Psicología 3(52): 345-357. https://doi.org/10.30849/rip%20ijp.v52i3.388
Ruiz, Miguel, Antonio Pardo y Rafael San Martín. 2010. «Modelos de ecuaciones estructurales». Papeles del Psicólogo 31(1): 34-45. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=77812441004
Shaheen Farhat et al. 2017. «Structural equation modeling (SEM) in social sciences & medical research: a guide for improved analysis. ». International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 7(5): 132-143. http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v7-i5/2882
Stoffels Malou et al. 2023. «Steps and decisions involved when conducting structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis» Medical teacher 45(12):1343-1345. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37813119/#:~:text=DOI%3A-,10.1080/0142159X.2023.2263233,-No%20abstract%20available
Tabachnick, Barbara, y Linda Fidell. 2007. Using Multivariate Statistics. 5.a ed New York, Estados Unidos: Pearson. https://hisp.htmi.ch/pluginfile.php/77114/mod_resource/content/0/Using%20Multivariate%20Statistics%20%28Tabachnick%20and%20Fidell%29.pdf
Thakkar Jitesh. 2020. «Procedural Steps in Structural Equation Modelling». En: Structural Equation Modelling. Studies in Systems, Decision and Control, vol 285. Singapore: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3793-6_3
Tarka, Piotr. 2018. «An overview of structural equation modeling: its beginnings, historical development, usefulness and controversies in the social sciences». Qual Quant 52: 313–354. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-017-0469-8
Vargas Hernández, Marcia Mercedes, y Eiliana Montero Rojas. 2016. «Factores que determinan el rendimiento académico en Matemáticas en el contexto de una universidad tecnológica: aplicación de un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales». Universitas Psychologica 15(4). https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.upsy15-4.fdra
Wright, Sewell. 1921. «Systems of mating. I. The biometric relations between parent and offspring». Genetics 6(2): 111-123. https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/6.2.111
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Andrés Castillo Vargas, Andrés Ruiz Sánchez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Open Access Magazines Proposed Policy
The authors who publish in Reflexiones Journal agree with the following terms:
a. The authors preserve the article´s copyright and grant the journal its first publication. The work [SPECIFY PERIOD OF TIME] must be licensed after its publication under a:
a. The authors retain the copyright and grant to the journal the right of first publication, with the work [SPECIFY PERIOD OF TIME] as well as after publication is licensed under a Creative Common CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Internationa) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of authorship of the work and initial publication in this journal.
b. The authors can separately establish additional agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the published version (for example, place it in an institutional repository or publish it in a book), but, as stated above, with the recognition of its initial publication in this magazine.
c. Authors are allowed and encouraged to circulate their work electronically (for example, in institutional repositories or on their own website) before and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as an earlier and greater citation of their published works (See The Effect of Open Access).
d. Reflexiones Journal does not apply any fee or charge for the publishing process.
The authors who send their manuscripts to be evaluated by Reflexiones Journal, assign to it the publication rights for the article’s circulation in printed version or digital format. By being part of multiple indexers, databases and reference systems, the articles that are published by this journal will be available and downloaded from these websites, indicating, in all cases, the articles’ authorship, date of publication, and the number to which they correspond. All the documents published by Reflexiones can be downloaded on the journal’s website: https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/reflexiones, and in all the databases where it is indexed.
The journal respects and follows all of the established by the Law No. 6683 Law on Copyright and Related Rights of the Republic of Costa Rica, as well as its reform in the 7979 Law.
Finally, Reflexiones applies in its publications the Creative Commons License, which can be consulted in the following link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.en
