My primary goal in learning about these tools is to gain a thorough understanding of statistical concepts such as regression, correlation, and hypothesis testing. I also want to know how to use smartPLS to analyze survey or experimental data for structural equation modeling. In the course of this week, I visited the official SmartPLS website: https://www.smartpls.com/courses. This gave me the opportunity to learn about the company and the different types of licenses available to people. The website also has a lot of resources (recommended readings, other books, tutorials, and videos) to help users understand the tool. (https://www.smartpls.com/documentation).
I watched a YouTube video SmartPLS 4 Tutorial Guide 1: Getting Started. Then, I was able to download and install the tool on my laptop to enable me to navigate the workspace as indicated in the video.
This week, I learnt how to create a workspace, name a project, import data from an Excel sheet (csv file) into the workspace, choose a data set (ordinal, categorical, and measurement), and identify missing values. My journey continues, and in the coming week I will be learning about the terminologies used and the theoretical background of Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). I think this will enhance my understanding of how models are built. I already have a set of data I plan to use. I think I will still have to come up with some kind of question or hypothesis to help me navigate the tool. Here are some of the useful resources for this week’s learning:
This sounds great…and definitely way over my head. I actually had to google it to get a better understanding of what you are working on. What inspired you to choose this as your learning project? Do you have a lot of experience with this type of work?
Thanks Jennifer
I seriously don’t have any experience with these tools. I do write and publish research papers. I recently realised that most journals are now accepting publications with sophisticated quantitative data analysis. Hence, I’m trying to learn at least one of the tools used for advanced quantitative data analysis.
I am very impressed with your ambition and what you have accomplished so far! I have done research in the past and I was very happy to have someone who knows quantitative data analysis to help out. Good luck, have fun and I look forward to following your journey!