Implementing a Simulation Study Using Multiple Software Packages for Structural Equation Modeling

Abstract

A Monte Carlo simulation study is an essential tool for evaluating the behavior of various quantitative methods including structural equation modeling (SEM) under various conditions. Typically, a large number of replications are recommended for a Monte Carlo simulation study, and therefore automating a Monte Carlo simulation study is important to get the desired number of replications for a simulation study. This article is intended to provide concrete examples for automating a Monte Carlo simulation study using some standard software packages for SEM: Mplus, LISREL, SAS PROC CALIS, and R package lavaan. Also, the equivalence between the multilevel SEM and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) is discussed, and relevant examples are provided. It is hoped that the codes in this article can provide some building blocks for researchers to write their own code to automate simulation procedures.