An Overview of Methods for the Analysis of Panel Data

The aim of this paper is to provide an introduction to the aims, underlying theory and practical application of change score, graphical chain, fixed/random effects and two different types of structural equation modelling (SEM). We restrict ourselves to the use of these methods to analyse panel data. By panel data we mean data which contain repeated measures of the same variable, taken from the same set of units over time. In our applications the units are individuals. However, the methods presented can be used for other types of units, such as businesses or countries. The paper does not provide details of specific software packages, and focuses in the main on procedures which are available in standard software. By using exemplars we provide a guide for substantive social scientists new to the area of panel data analysis, but who have a working knowledge of generalized linear models.