Mastering a Mediating or Moderating Effects Study
Presented by William M. O'Bannon, Jr., PhD
About The Course
The webinar will be held from June 2, 2025 to July 11, 2025. The early registration fee of $250 covers the cost of registration and all course materials. Early registration will close on Friday, April 4, 2025 (Midnight, EST). After that date the regular registration fee of $300 will apply.
Contact Dr. O'Bannon at the email address: wb2005@caa.columbia.edu with any issues regarding registration. After registration, you will receive an email message confirming your registration in the webinar class.
Registation
Select a method below to purchase a seat in the next Mastering a Mediating or Moderating Effects Study 6-week webinar class. Please email Dr. O'Bannon at: wb2005@caa.columbia.edu if you would like to register by check.
Use the button below to register via Paypal or a Credit/Debit Card.
The Thought Process Behind This Course
The study of indirect effects (i.e., mediating and moderating effects) is one of the most exciting and interesting activities in quantitative research. Specifically, the study of direct effects (where if variable A increases then variable B either increases or decreases) is quite important. However, the study of indirect effects helps us to identify a third variable that impacts the relationship between variables A and B which is often more interesting than the direct effect itself!
In other words, the study of indirect effects allows us to present a more nuanced examination of relationships where a mediating or moderating variable influences the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
Despite the great utility of testing for indirect effects, these methods are generally underutilized and not understood. It is quite common that the distinction between mediating and moderating effects is unclear. Therefore, this 6-week webinar program has been created to review the essentials of both mediating and moderating effects, as well as how these data analysis methods are nested within the context of a full quantitative research study.
Course Objectives
The objective of this webinar program is to enable the participant to structure and implement a full quantitative research study incorporating mediating and moderating effects analysis on their own. To meet this objective, attendees will meet a list of smaller objectives that include (but are not limited to):
1. Learning the foundations of indirect effects data analysis utilizing moderating effects: Using the SPSS statistical software, step-by-step guidance will be provided in detail regarding how to structure and implement a full quantitative research study examining moderating effects. Specifically, the analysis will examine how a moderating variable impacts the relationship between an independent and dependent variable.
Attendees will also learn how to examine the moderating effect, as well as how to present the findings in the form of a graph with slope lines. The initial presentation will examine a 2 X 2 moderating effect. After that larger interaction terms will be examined.
2. Learning the foundations of indirect effects data analysis utilizing mediating effects: Using the AMOS function in the SPSS software, attendees will learn how to structure and implement a full quantitative research study examining mediating effects. Specifically, the analysis will examine how a third variable (the mediating variable) mediates the relationship between an independent and dependent variable. Both full and partial mediating effects will be examined in the context of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Path Analysis.
3. Publishing findings: Attendees will learn how to conduct the write-up and report the results of the data analysis in manuscript form.
Course Features
Several resources are provided to meet the objectives, including weekly presentations, personalized attention, and written materials. Specifically, the webinar features include:
1. Weekly Webinar Presentations: A 1-hour (approximately) webinar presentation will be made available to participants every Monday during the 6-week duration of the program (emailed to the attendee by 9 am EST). All examples and lecture notes will use SPSS. All presentations are recorded so each may be watched at the viewer’s convenience. Attendees have indefinite access to the presentations during and after the webinar.
2. Q and A Sessions: Learning these materials is often facilitated by the participant being able to present their questions directly to the facilitator. Therefore, participants will be able to email their questions on the material directly to Dr. Bannon every Thursday (a 24-hour Q and A session) during the program and have him respond to them personally.
3. Written Materials: A written chapter (PDF) detailing the materials will be presented to elaborate upon the content presented in each weekly webinar. The combined chapters will produce a manual containing detailed lecture notes, examples of computer printouts, and several other useful features.
4. One-Hour Personal Consultation: Often, participants prefer to present some questions by phone or in person. Subsequently, Dr. Bannon will schedule a 1-hour personal consultation by phone or in person (regularly $225 at the student rate/$300 at the academic rate) with each participant to discuss any topic of the participant's choosing (e.g., webinar course materials, a project that is being developed or worked upon).
5. Writing Critique: Reporting findings in scientific text and tables is a skill. Many times a critique and feedback to one’s work is of great benefit. Subsequently, as a part of this webinar participants are welcome to submit up to 10 pages of scientific writing (e.g., the methods and results sections of a dissertation or research study) to Dr. Bannon for critique and feedback.
Who Should Attend?
This course is designed to facilitate a foundational understanding of the process of data analysis using mediation or moderation indirect effects. Therefore, students, academics, and professionals approaching quantitative data analysis of indirect effects at the fundamental level or those who would like a refresher course before performing a quantitative study would find this course useful.
Course Structure
Learning will occur over the webinar duration in the following 6 week format:
Week 1: Introduction to and Concepts of Mediating and Moderating Effects
Week 2: Testing for moderating effects examining a dichotomous dependent variable
Week 3: Testing for moderating effects examining a continuous dependent variable
Week 4: Mediation Effects 1 - Indirect, Direct, & Total Effects in a Path Diagram
Week 5: Mediation Effects 2 - SEM and Advanced Topics
Week 6: Reporting the Results of an Indirect Effects Research Study
Registation
Select a method below to purchase a seat in the next Mastering a Mediating or Moderating Effects Study 6-week webinar class. Please email Dr. O'Bannon at: wb2005@caa.columbia.edu if you would like to register by check.
Use the button below to register via Paypal or a Credit/Debit Card.
The webinar will be held from June 2, 2025 to July 11, 2025. The early registration fee of $250 covers the cost of registration and all course materials. Early registration will close on Friday, April 4, 2025 (Midnight, EST). After that date the regular registration fee of $300 will apply.
Contact Dr. O'Bannon at the email address: wb2005@caa.columbia.edu with any issues regarding registration. After registration, you will receive an email message confirming your registration in the webinar class.