Software Reviews : WinAMOS Publisher: SmallWaters Statistical Consulting and Computing,1507 E. 53 St.,#452,Chicago,IL 60615;telephone: [phone];fax: [phone];e-mail: smallwaters @acm.org;URL: http : //www. smallwaters. com. Year of Publication: 1996 Version Reviewed: 3.51 System Requirements: PC with 80386 processor or higher,6 MB RAM or greater,mouse,4.9 MB free hard disk space,Windows 3.1 or higher for 16-bit version;32-bit version requites Windows 95 or Windows NT and 6.5 MB free disk space. Materials: 4 high-density 3.5-inch diskettes;558-page manual in three-ring binder;both 16-bit and 32-bit versions are included on the distribution diskettes. Price: $460;$330 academic (price from SIS Scientific Software,http: //www.sisweb.com/software/softseca.htm) Effectiveness: Excellent User Friendliness: Excellent Documentation: Good

Abstract

AMOS implements structural modeling. Conceived by James Arbuckle, a psychometrician, as a vehicle for teaching causal analysis, AMOS has evolved into a powerful research environment that eases even nonstatisticians into this important arsenal of tools. AMOS supports structural modeling through maximum likelihood, unweighted least- squares, generalized least squares, Browne's asymptotically distribution-free criterion, and scale-free least-squares. It uses built-in bootstrapping (resampling) to derive standard errors and confidence intervals for sample means, variances, covariances, correlations, and other estimates. Given the researcher's specification of a path diagram, AMOS estimates the path parameters in diagrammatic form, which can be exported to either word processors or graphics programs. The AMOS environment also provides a graphical method for teaching statistics, from hypothesis tests of means through analysis of covariance, multiple regression, and factor analysis, all within the unifying framework of the structural equation modeling perspective.