Penn State CTSI BERD Workshop presented by Michael D. Hunter, PhD, Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons
Clinical and Translational Science Institute
CTSI BERD Workshop: 'A Hands-on Introduction to Structural Equation Modeling in Lavaan with Crosswalk to Other Open-Source Software'
1:30 PM - 4:00 PM / May 21, 2026
In this 2.5-hour workshop, Michael D. Hunter, assistant professor of human development and family studies, will give a brief, high-level overview of structural equation modeling, a way of representing multiple, simultaneous influences among a set of variables. With hands-on practical exercises, participants will be provided the skills needed to understand, interpret, and specify structural equation models in the R package lavaan. Tools will be provided to assist you in writing your own scripts and understanding the scripts that are widely available online. Finally, attendees will be provided with several online resources for pre-written scripts.
The Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Recent Topics in Research Methods seminar series is held during the academic year. Lectures on fundamental research methods are given in the fall semester, with more advanced topics presented in the spring semester. Statisticians and methodologists from multiple Penn State departments present these seminars.