Structural equation models (SEM) are frequently used in Information Systems (IS) to analyze and test theoretical propositions. As IS researchers frequently reuse measurement instruments and adapt or extend theories, it is not uncommon for a researcher to re-estimate regression relationships in their SEM that have been examined in previous studies. Bayesian statistics offer a statistically sound way to incorporate prior knowledge into SEM estimation, allowing researchers to keep a “running tally” of the best estimates of model parameters. This tutorial on the application of Bayesian principles to SEM estimation discusses when and why the use of Bayesian estimation should be considered by IS researchers, presents an illustrative example using best practices and makes recommendations to guide IS researchers in the application of Bayesian SEM.

 

Paper

 

  • Evermann, J. and Tate, M.: Bayesian Structural Equation Models for Cumulative Theory Building in Information Systems - A Brief Tutorial using BUGS and R. Communications of the Association for Information Systems 34(1), article 76.
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Materials

 

Slides

Examples

Software

 

JAGS

JAGS (Just Another Gibbs Sampler) is an open-source implementation of the BUGS language for modeling and estimating Bayesian models. The tutorial was developed using version 3.4.0 but you should download the current version for your system.

 

 

OpenBUGS

OpenBUGS is another implementation ofthe BUGS language. The tutorial was developed using version 3.2.3 but you should download the current version for your system.

 

 

R

The R statistical software is a framework for general statistical computations. It can be extended using packages (libraries). Hundreds of packages exist for many different applications. R is open-source. The tutorial was developed using version 2.14.0 but you should download the current version for your system.

 

 

Notepad++

Sadly, Microsoft Windows does not come with a decent text editor. Notepad++ is a good open-source editor.

 

Recommended Books

 

Miscellaneous Helpful Links