The SEM Way
Lyrics by Alan Reifman
(May be sung to the tune of “Let’s Live for Today,” Mogol/Shapiro/Julien, popularized by the Grass Roots)
You’ve got your sets of measures, some constructs they could form,
Plus, indices of fitness, to compare to a norm,
You draw yourself a model, with circles, squares, and paths,
The AMOS program handles, the complicated math,
If you get too many errors, you can express your wrath,
1-2-3-4
Analyze your work, the SEM way,
Analyze your work, the SEM way,
Don’t forget to, check your RM-SEA,
Analyze your work, the SEM way…
AMOS is Ideal
Lyrics by Susan Murray
(May be sung to the tune of “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” James/Lindsey/Sampson, popularized by Carrie Underwood)
She was working last Friday on her laptop battery,
On homework to achieve,
Her constructs were getting muddy, with her model nowhere near complete,
Fifty specs to go and she was running low on patience and caffeine,
It was complex and unclear,
She had a constraint and the software caused the tension,
But they say SAS is unsurpassed,
Before she knew it she was closing down that darn software SAS,
She saw the latent variables flash before her eyes,
She didn’t even have time to imply,
She was so impaired,
She suddenly was aware,
AMOS is ideal,
Take causation from my hands,
‘Cause I can’t do this on my own,
I’m letting go,
No coding song and dance,
To learn about the population,
AMOS is ideal,
A cross-lagged panel model she pulled out of the folder,
And like Emeril she went BAM! nonstop,
She cried like a baby when she saw the RMSEA drop,
Her hypothesis and all the parameters,
She now could weigh,
She could model all day,
In a Paula Abdul light,
Software to exchange,
Arbuckle already did the fight,
AMOS is ideal,
Take causation from my hands,
‘Cause I can’t do this on my own,
I’m letting go,
No coding song and dance,
SAS I won’t depend upon,
Oh, AMOS is ideal,
SAS, I’m saying no,
No coding song and dance
SAS I won’t depend upon,
My loyalty is withdrawn,
AMOS is ideal,
Oh, don’t you take it from me,
Find my μ
Equal
Lyrics by Alan Reifman
(May be sung to the tune of “Mercy,” Duffy/Booker)
A-A-A, B-B-B, C-C-C, D-D-D
I’ve got two, paths that you can view,
I think their strength might be the same, and that’s the frame,
You’ve got, to see through,
Let’s run the model free, paths can be any sized,
Then run equalized,
We need a way to choose, a way to compare,
Test delta chi-square,
You’ve got me constrained to be equal,
Why won’t you release me?
You’ve got me constrained to be equal,
Why won’t you release me?
Can’t you rele-e-e-e-ase me?
Lower chi-square, will always be there,
When you let the paths go free, but you must see,
True sig-nif-i-cance,
When the chi-square’s non-sig, the one to retain,
Is where you constrain,
But if the change is big, p’s under oh-five,
Free paths shall survive,
You’ve got me constrained to be equal,
Why won’t you release me?
You’ve got me constrained to be equal,
Why won’t you release me?
Can’t you rele-e-e-e-ase me?
It’s Still SEM to Me
Lyrics by Alan Reifman
(May be sung to the tune of “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” Billy Joel)
It’s a way to show, inter-relations,
In a set of, latent constructs,
It gives you, some global fit statistics,
Does your model, really stack up?
Squares and circles, now you’re off and you’re running,
Will your results, be routine or be stunning?
LISREL, M-PLUS, EQS, or AMOS,
It’s still SEM to me…..
