Recent Progress on Bayesian Structural Equation Models

USC Quantitative Speaker Series (Spring 2021)

Date: March 2, 2021

Speaker: Ed Merkle, Ph.D.

Professor
University of Missouri
Department of Psychology Science

Abstract

The talk will be about research and developments surrounding the R package blavaan. Specific topics include strategies for speeding up model estimation, methods for computing model information criteria, and extensions to complex models. I will try to discuss the research in the context of open science and reproducibility, which has been a theme of the software development. I will also provide some demonstrations along the way to illustrate the functionality of blavaan.

Bio

Dr. Ed Merkle is a Professor of Quantitative Psychology at University of Missouri. His research involves a mix of psychometric modeling and the experimentation/modeling that arises from cognitive science and mathematical psychology, with specific interests including Bayesian latent variable models, forecasting and subjective probability, and test/item bias and fairness. He is the creator of the R package blavaan, which provides researchers with an open, flexible, accessible set of tools for estimating Bayesian structural equation models. His research is partially supported by National Science Foundation.