Advanced Analysis - Eppp Knowledge

In $X\rightarrow M\rightarrow Y$ , what is the indirect effect expressed with path coefficients $a$ and $b$ ?

Indirect effect $=ab$ . The indirect effect is calculated as the product of the path from X to M (a) and from M to Y (b).
What does a meta-analysis effect size of $r=0.10$ typically indicate about magnitude?

Small correlation effect. Cohen's guidelines interpret r=0.10 as a small effect, representing a weak linear relationship between variables.
In CFA/SEM, which fit index is typically preferred to be at most $0.06$ for good fit?

RMSEA $\leq 0.06$ . RMSEA values of 0.06 or lower suggest close model fit, accounting for parsimony and approximation error.
What does a meta-regression moderator with a significant slope most directly indicate?

Effect size varies systematically with the moderator. A significant moderator slope in meta-regression shows that the effect size changes predictably as the moderator variable changes.
What is the correct interpretation of a $95\%$ CI for an effect size that excludes $0$ ?

Effect is statistically significant at $\alpha=0.05$ . A 95% confidence interval excluding zero means the null hypothesis of no effect can be rejected at the 5% significance level.
Which option best defines a factor loading in factor analysis?

Correlation of an item with the latent factor. Factor loadings represent the strength and direction of the relationship between observed variables and underlying latent constructs.
Which plot is used to decide the number of factors by locating an 'elbow'?

Scree plot. A scree plot displays eigenvalues in descending order, with the elbow point suggesting the optimal number of factors to retain.
Which statistic in factor analysis is the proportion of variance in a variable explained by factors?

Communality. Communality measures the shared variance between a variable and all extracted factors, indicating how well the factors explain it.
Identify the typical meaning of a funnel plot showing asymmetry with missing small negative studies.

Possible publication bias or small-study effects. Asymmetry in a funnel plot, especially missing small studies with negative results, suggests bias toward publishing significant findings.
Which rule retains factors with eigenvalues greater than $1$ in EFA?

Kaiser criterion. The Kaiser criterion retains factors with eigenvalues over 1, as they explain more variance than a single variable.
In meta-analysis, what is the most common inverse-variance weight for study $i$ under fixed effect?

$w_i=\frac{1}{\text{Var}(\hat\theta_i)}$ . Inverse-variance weighting gives more influence to precise studies by using the reciprocal of each study's effect size variance.
Which meta-analysis plot shows each study effect with CI and the pooled effect as a diamond?

Forest plot. A forest plot visually summarizes individual study effects, their confidence intervals, and the overall meta-analytic estimate.
What does an eigenvalue represent in exploratory factor analysis (EFA)?

Variance accounted for by a factor/component. Eigenvalues quantify the amount of total variance explained by each factor, guiding decisions on factor retention.
Which rotation assumes factors are uncorrelated: varimax or oblimin?

Varimax (orthogonal rotation). Varimax rotation maximizes the variance of squared loadings within factors, assuming independence between factors.
State the formula for Cohen's $d$ using group means and pooled standard deviation.

$d=\frac{\bar{X}_1-\bar{X}_2}{s_p}$ . Cohen's d quantifies the standardized difference between two group means by dividing their difference by the pooled standard deviation.
What does a significant Cochran's $Q$ test most directly suggest in meta-analysis?

Heterogeneity beyond sampling error. A significant Q statistic indicates that observed variability in effect sizes exceeds what would be expected from sampling error alone.
Which rotation allows factors to correlate: varimax or oblimin?

Oblimin (oblique rotation). Oblimin rotation permits correlated factors, providing a more realistic structure when factors are theoretically related.
Which meta-analytic model includes between-study variance $\tau^2$ : fixed-effect or random-effects?

Random-effects model. The random-effects model accounts for variability in true effect sizes between studies via the tau-squared parameter.
Which model assumes all studies estimate one true effect size: fixed-effect or random-effects?

Fixed-effect model. The fixed-effect model posits a single true effect size across studies, with differences due only to sampling error.
What does a meta-analysis effect size of $d=0.50$ typically indicate about magnitude?

Medium standardized mean difference. Cohen's conventions classify d=0.5 as a medium effect size, indicating a moderate difference between groups in standardized terms.
Which option best identifies a mediator in $X\rightarrow M\rightarrow Y$ causal modeling?

$M$ is the mediator. In causal chains, the mediator explains the mechanism through which the independent variable influences the dependent variable.
In CFA/SEM, which fit index is typically preferred to be at least $0.95$ for good fit?

CFI (or TLI) $\geq 0.95$ . CFI and TLI values of 0.95 or higher indicate that the model fits the data well compared to a null model.
Identify the correct conclusion when a SEM model has good fit but paths are nonsignificant.

Overall structure fits, but hypothesized effects lack support. Good global fit supports the model's overall structure, while nonsignificant paths indicate insufficient evidence for specific relationships.
What does $I^2=75\%$ indicate about heterogeneity in a meta-analysis?

Substantial heterogeneity. An I-squared value of 75% reflects that 75% of the observed variance is due to true heterogeneity among studies.
In SEM path models, what does a standardized path coefficient $\beta=0.30$ represent?

$1$ SD increase in predictor implies $0.30$ SD increase in outcome. Standardized beta coefficients express the change in the outcome variable in standard deviation units per SD change in the predictor.

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