Confirmatory path analysis in a generalized multilevel context

Ecology. 2009 Feb;90(2):363-8. doi: 10.1890/08-1034.1.

Abstract

This paper describes how to test, and potentially falsify, a multivariate causal hypothesis involving only observed variables (i.e., a path analysis) when the data have a hierarchical or multilevel structure, when different variables are potentially defined at different levels of such a hierarchy, and when different variables have different sampling distributions. The test is a generalization of Shipley's d-sep test and can be conducted using standard statistical programs capable of fitting generalized mixed models.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Ecosystem*
  • Models, Biological*
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Research Design
  • Trees