Editing Path analysis (statistics) (section)

{{Short description|Statistical term}}
In [[statistics]], '''path analysis''' is used to describe the directed dependencies among a set of variables. This includes models equivalent to any form of [[multiple regression analysis]], [[factor analysis]], [[canonical correlation analysis]], [[discriminant analysis]], as well as more general families of models in the multivariate analysis of variance and covariance analyses ([[MANOVA]], [[ANOVA]], [[ANCOVA]]).

In addition to being thought of as a form of multiple regression focusing on causality, path analysis can be viewed as a special case of [[structural equation model|structural equation modeling (SEM)]] &ndash; one in which only single indicators are employed for each of the variables in the causal model. That is, path analysis is SEM with a structural model, but no measurement model. Other terms used to refer to path analysis include causal modeling and [[analysis of covariance]] structures.

Path analysis is considered by [[Judea Pearl]] to be a direct ancestor to the techniques of [[causal inference]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pearl |first1=Judea |title=The Book of Why |date=May 2018 |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-465-09760-9 |page=6 }}</ref>