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Data Analytics
Choosing the right analytical model for your data
By Dr. S. Thowseaf··6 min read
Method choice should follow from the question. In practice it too often follows from familiarity, and the paper spends its life defending a technique instead of a finding.
Explanation or prediction?
If you need to say why an outcome occurs, regression and structural models keep the coefficients interpretable. If you only need accurate forecasts, machine learning is legitimate — but stop claiming causal insight from it.
Latent constructs need SEM
When your variables are measured indirectly through survey items, structural equation modelling handles measurement error that ordinary regression silently ignores.
Report what you tried
Disclosing the models you rejected, and why, strengthens a paper far more than presenting a single flawless-looking specification.