Two methods of causal analysis have become popular: the Simon-Blalock method
and path analysis. The Simon-Blalock method is a "weak" form of path analysis,
whereas more information can be deduced by using path analysis. The Driver-
Massey data, examined earlier by the Simon-Blalock method, were reanalyzed by
path analysis. The result shows that a more complicated path analytic model gives a
better fit with the data, and also yields additional information for more detailed
analysis—making path analysis a powerful tool for examining causal relationships in
hologeistic research.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Asher, Herbert B.1976Causal Modeling. Beverly Hills : Sage.
2.
Blalock, Hubert M., Jr. 1964Causal Inferences in Non-Experimental Research . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
3.
1971Path Analysis. In Causal Models in the Social Sciences. Hubert M. Blalock, Jr., ed. pp. 73-74. Chicago: Aldine.
4.
Blalock, Hubert M., Jr., and Ann B. Blalock, eds. 1968Methodology in Social Research. New York: McGraw-Hill .
5.
Boudon, Raymond1965A Method of Linear Causal Analysis: Dependence Analysis . American Sociological Review30:365-374.
6.
Cell, Charles P.1974Charismatic Heads of State: The Social Context. Behavior Science Research9:255-305.
7.
Divale, William Tulio1974Migration, External Warfare, and Matrilocal Residence . Behavior Science Research9:75-133.
8.
Driver, Harold E. and William C. Massey1957Comparative Studies of North American Indians. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society.
9.
Duncan, Otis Dudley1966Path Analysis: Sociological Examples. American Journal of Sociology72:1-16. 1975Introduction to Structural Equation Models. New York: Academic Press.
10.
Ember, Melvin and Carol R. Ember1971The Conditions Favoring Matrilocal Versus Patrilocal Residenc e. American Anthropologist73:571-594.
11.
Erikson, Edwin E.1976Tradition and Evolution in Song Style: A Reanalysis of Cantometric Data. Behavior Science Research11:277-308.
12.
Hadden, Kenneth and Billie DeWalt1974Path Analysis: Some Anthropological Examples. Ethnology13:105-128.
13.
Land, Kenneth C.1969Principles of Path Analysis. In Sociological Methodology 1969 . Edgar F. Borgatta, ed. pp. 3-37. San Francisco : Jossey-Bass.
14.
Naroll, Raoul1970a What Have We Learned from Cross-Cultural Surveys ? American Anthropologist72: 1227-1288.
15.
1970 b Influence Analysis—An Appendix. In A Handbook of Method in Cultural Anthropology. Raoul Naroll and Ronald Cohen, eds. pp. 108-110. Garden City, N.Y.: Natural History Press . Reprinted 1973. New York: Columbia University Press.
16.
1974The Use of Ordinal Statistics in Causal Analysis of Correlations . Social Forces53: 251-253.
17.
Naroll, Raoul and Ronald Cohen, eds. 1970A Handbook of Method in Cultural Anthropology. Garden City, N.Y.: Natural History Press. Reprinted 1973. New York: Columbia University Press.
18.
Nygreen, G.T.1971Interactive Path Analysis. American Sociologist6:37-43.
19.
Witkowski, Stanley R.1977Kinship. American Behavioral Scientist20:657-668.
