Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) has long been used in social work research, but the writing on the topic is typically fragmented and highly technical. This pocket guide fills a major gap in the literature by providing social work researchers and doctoral students with an accessible synthesis. The authors demonstrate two SEM programs with distinct user interfaces and capabilities (Amos and Mplus) with enough specificity that readers can conduct their own analyses without consulting additional resources. Examples from social work literature highlight best practices for the specification, estimation, interpretation, and modification of structural equation models. Unlike most sources on SEM, this book provides clear guidelines on how to evaluate SEM output and how to proceed when model fit is not acceptable.
Oftentimes, confirmatory factor analysis and general structure modeling are the most flexible, powerful, and appropriate choices for social work data. Richly illustrated with figures, equations, matrices, and tables, this pocket guide empowers social workers with a set of defensible analysis strategies that allows for competent, confident use of SEM.

A deadly secret that won't stay buried... It is the fall of 1896, and Miss Concordia Wells is hip-deep in the usual tumult of a lady professor's life: classes, clubs, student pranks, and the unending drama generated by the girls she lives with on campus. Complicating this normality is the new Lady Principal, whom the students have nicknamed "the Ogre." The woman seems bent on making Concordia's life miserable. Events take a grave turn, however, when an ancient Egyptian amulet donated to the college mysteriously disappears, the donor is found murdered, and his daughter - Concordia's best friend - confesses to killing him. Desperate for answers, Concordia unravels a 20-year-old secret, closely guarded by men now dead. But such secrets can be dangerous for the daughters left behind, including Concordia herself. Can she make sense of the mystery that has bound together their fates, before it's too late? Absorbing in its memorable characters, non-stop plot twists, and depiction of life in a late-nineteenth century women's college, Unseemly Pursuits is the sequel to the first book in the series, Dangerous and Unseemly. Fans of Harriet Vane and Charlotte Pitt will find in Concordia Wells a new heroine to fall in love with.