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Article: The importance of indirect effects in media effects research: testing for mediation in structural equation modeling.
- Article from:
- Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media
- Article date:
- December 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Broadcast Education Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Empirical media effects research is a diverse field that continues to expand its theoretical, methodological, and analytical boundaries. As McLeod, Kosicki, and Pan (1996) have stated, "more complex models of media effects and more sophisticated statistical methods are being explored and used to connect previously isolated communication processes" (p. 241). One advanced multivariate statistical technique recently employed by media scholars is covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM). We explore the underutilization of this technique by media effects scholars. In particular, we focus on the absence of indirect effects in media research and why the failure to ...