On the Evaluation of Structural Equation Models

1986| Working Paper No. 909

Criteria for evaluating structural equation models with latent variables are defined, critiqued, and illustrated. An overall program for model evaluation is proposed based upon an interpretation of converging and diverging evidence. Model assessment is considered to be a complex process mixing statistical criteria with philosophical, historical, and theoretical elements. Inevitably, the process entails some attempt at reconciliation between so-called objective and subjective norms.