By focusing on how structural equation modeling (SEM) can illuminate what we know abou social and behavioral phenomena rather than on the "ins and outs" of the various SEM programs (eg., AMOS, LISREL, EQS), David Kaplan demonstrates to the reader the utility of SEM, its limitations, and the statistical underpinnings of the method. The book begins with an explanation of confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis, and how these two techniques can be combined for SEM.