---
title: "Power Analysis for Moderation, Mediation, and Moderated Mediation"
date: "2025-08-31"
output:
  rmarkdown::html_vignette:
    options:
      toc:
        depth: 2
      number_sections: true
vignette: >
  %\VignetteIndexEntry{Power Analysis for Moderation, Mediation, and Moderated Mediation}
  %\VignetteEngine{knitr::rmarkdown}
  %\VignetteEncoding{UTF-8}
bibliography: references.bib
csl: apa.csl
---



# Introduction

This article is a brief illustration of how
to use `power4test()`
from the package
[power4mome](https://sfcheung.github.io/power4mome/)
to do power analysis of mediation,
moderation, and moderated mediation
in a model to be fitted by structural
equation modeling using `lavaan`.

# Prerequisite

Basic knowledge about fitting models
by `lavaan` is required. Readers are
also expected to have basic knowledge
of mediation, moderation, and/or
moderated mediation.

# Scope

This is a brief illustration. More
complicated scenarios and other features
of `power4mome` will be described in
other vignettes.

# Package

This introduction only needs the following
package:


``` r
library(power4mome)
```

# Workflow

Two functions are sufficient for estimating
power given a model, population
values, sample size, and the test to be
used. This is the workflow:

1.  Specify the model syntax for the
    population model, in `lavaan`
    style, and set the population values of
    the model parameters.

3.  Call `power4test()` to examine the setup
    and the datasets generated. Repeat
    this and previous steps until the model is
    specified correctly.

4.  Call `power4test()` again, with the
    test to do specified.

5.  Call `rejection_rates()` to
    compute the power.

# Mediation

Let's consider a simple mediation
model. We would like to estimate the
power of testing a mediation effect
by Monte Carlo confidence interval.

## Specify the Population Model

This is the model syntax


``` r
mod <-
"
m ~ x
y ~ m + x
"
```

Note that, even if we are going to
test mediation, moderation, or
moderated mediation effects, we do not
need to add any labels to this model.
This will be taken care of by the
test functions, through the use of
the package
[`manymome`](https://sfcheung.github.io/manymome/)
[@cheung_manymome_2024].


## Specify The Population Values {#es_convention}

There are two approaches to do this:

- Using named vectors or lists.

- Using a multiline string similar to `lavaan`
model syntax.

The second approach is
demonstrated below.

Suppose we want to estimate the power
when:

- The path from `x` to `m` are "large"
  in strength.

- The path from `m` to `y` are "medium"
  in strength.

- The path from `x` to `m` are "small"
  in strength.

By default, `power4mome` uses this convention
for regression path and correlation:^[
Users can specify the values directly
if necessary.]

- Small: .10 (or -.10)

- Medium: .30 (or -.30)

- Large: .50 (or -.50)

For a product term in moderation, this is
the convention:

- Small: .05 (or -.05)

- Medium: .10 (or -.10)

- Large: .15 (or -.15)

All these values are for the standardized
solution (the correlations and
so-called "betas").

The following string denotes the desired
values:


``` r
mod_es <-
"
m ~ x: l
y ~ m: m
y ~ x: s
"
```

Each line starts with a *tag*, which
is the parameter presented in `lavaan`
syntax. The tag ends with a colon, `:`.

After the colon is *population value*, which
can be:

- A string denoting the value. By default:

    - `s`: Small. (`-s` for small and negative.)

    - `m`: Medium. (`-m` for medium and negative.)

    - `l`: Large. (`-l` for large and negative.)

    - `nil`: Zero.

All other regression coefficients and covariances,
if not specified in this string, are set to zero.

## Call `power4test()` to Check the Model


``` r
out <- power4test(nrep = 2,
                  model = mod,
                  pop_es = mod_es,
                  n = 50000,
                  iseed = 1234)
```

These are the arguments used:

- `nrep`: The number of replications.
  In this stage, a small number can
  be used. It is more important to
  have a large sample size than to have
  many replications.

- `model`: The model syntax.

- `pop_es`: The string setting the
  population values.

- `n`: The sample size in each replications.
  In this stage, just for checking the
  model and the data generation, this
  number can be set to a large value unless
  the model is slow to fit when the
  sample size is large.

- `iseed`: If supplied, it is used to
  set the seed for the random number
  generator. It is advised to always set
  this to an arbitrary integer, to make
  the results reproducible.^[The functions
  used are `parallel::clusterSetRNGStream()`
  for parallel processing, and `set.seed()`
  for serial processing.]

The population values can be shown by
printing this object:


``` r
out
#> 
#> ====================== Model Information ======================
#> 
#> == Model on Factors/Variables ==
#> 
#> m ~ x
#> y ~ m + x
#> 
#> == Model on Variables/Indicators ==
#> 
#> m ~ x
#> y ~ m + x
#> 
#> ====== Population Values ======
#> 
#> Regressions:
#>                    Population
#>   m ~                        
#>     x                 0.500  
#>   y ~                        
#>     m                 0.300  
#>     x                 0.100  
#> 
#> Variances:
#>                    Population
#>    .m                 0.750  
#>    .y                 0.870  
#>     x                 1.000  
#> 
#> (Computing indirect effects for 2 paths ...)
#> 
#> == Population Conditional/Indirect Effect(s) ==
#> 
#> == Indirect Effect(s) ==
#> 
#>               ind
#> x -> m -> y 0.150
#> x -> y      0.100
#> 
#>  - The 'ind' column shows the indirect effect(s).
#>  
#> ======================= Data Information =======================
#> 
#> Number of Replications:  2 
#> Sample Sizes:  50000 
#> 
#> Call print with 'data_long = TRUE' for further information.
#> 
#> ==================== Extra Element(s) Found ====================
#> 
#> - fit
#> 
#> === Element(s) of the First Dataset ===
#> 
#> ============ <fit> ============
#> 
#> lavaan 0.6-19 ended normally after 1 iteration
#> 
#>   Estimator                                         ML
#>   Optimization method                           NLMINB
#>   Number of model parameters                         5
#> 
#>   Number of observations                         50000
#> 
#> Model Test User Model:
#>                                                       
#>   Test statistic                                 0.000
#>   Degrees of freedom                                 0
```

By default, the population model
will be fitted to each dataset, hence
the section `<fit>`. Perfect fit is
expected if the population model is
a saturated model.

We check the section `Population Values`
to see whether the values are what we
expected.

- In this example, the population values for the regression
paths are what we specified.

If they are different from what we expect,
check the string for `pop_es` to see whether
we set the population values correctly.

If necessary, we can check the data
generation by adding `data_long = TRUE`
when printing the output:


``` r
print(out,
      data_long = TRUE)
#> 
#> ====================== Model Information ======================
#> 
#> == Model on Factors/Variables ==
#> 
#> m ~ x
#> y ~ m + x
#> 
#> == Model on Variables/Indicators ==
#> 
#> m ~ x
#> y ~ m + x
#> 
#> ====== Population Values ======
#> 
#> Regressions:
#>                    Population
#>   m ~                        
#>     x                 0.500  
#>   y ~                        
#>     m                 0.300  
#>     x                 0.100  
#> 
#> Variances:
#>                    Population
#>    .m                 0.750  
#>    .y                 0.870  
#>     x                 1.000  
#> 
#> (Computing indirect effects for 2 paths ...)
#> 
#> == Population Conditional/Indirect Effect(s) ==
#> 
#> == Indirect Effect(s) ==
#> 
#>               ind
#> x -> m -> y 0.150
#> x -> y      0.100
#> 
#>  - The 'ind' column shows the indirect effect(s).
#>  
#> ======================= Data Information =======================
#> 
#> Number of Replications:  2 
#> Sample Sizes:  50000 
#> 
#> ==== Descriptive Statistics ====
#> 
#>   vars     n mean sd skew kurtosis se
#> m    1 1e+05 0.00  1 0.01     0.03  0
#> y    2 1e+05 0.01  1 0.01     0.00  0
#> x    3 1e+05 0.00  1 0.01     0.01  0
#> 
#> ===== Parameter Estimates Based on All 2 Samples Combined =====
#> 
#> Total Sample Size: 100000 
#> 
#> ==== Standardized Estimates ====
#> 
#> Variances and error variances omitted.
#> 
#> Regressions:
#>                     est.std
#>   m ~                      
#>     x                 0.500
#>   y ~                      
#>     m                 0.295
#>     x                 0.102
#> 
#> 
#> ==================== Extra Element(s) Found ====================
#> 
#> - fit
#> 
#> === Element(s) of the First Dataset ===
#> 
#> ============ <fit> ============
#> 
#> lavaan 0.6-19 ended normally after 1 iteration
#> 
#>   Estimator                                         ML
#>   Optimization method                           NLMINB
#>   Number of model parameters                         5
#> 
#>   Number of observations                         50000
#> 
#> Model Test User Model:
#>                                                       
#>   Test statistic                                 0.000
#>   Degrees of freedom                                 0
```

The section `Descriptive Statistics`, generated
by `psych::describe()`, shows basic
descriptive statistics for the observed
variables. As expected, they have means
close to zero and standard deviations
close to one, because the datasets were
generated using the standardized model.

The section `Parameter Estimates Based on`
shows the parameter estimates when the
*population model* is fitted to *all the
datasets combined*. When the total
sample size is large, these estimates
should be close to the population values.

The results show that we have specified
the population model correctly. We
can proceed to specify the test and
estimate the power.

## Call `power4test()` to Do the Target Test {#med_power}

We can now do the simulation to estimate
power. A large number of datasets (e.g., 500)
of the target sample size are to be generated,
and then the target test will be conducted
in each of these datasets.

Suppose we would like to estimate the
power of using Monte Carlo confidence intervals
to test the indirect effect from `x` to
`y` through `m`, when sample size is 50.
This is the call:


``` r
out <- power4test(nrep = 400,
                  model = mod,
                  pop_es = mod_es,
                  n = 50,
                  R = 2000,
                  ci_type = "mc",
                  test_fun = test_indirect_effect,
                  test_args = list(x = "x",
                                   m = "m",
                                   y = "y",
                                   mc_ci = TRUE),
                  iseed = 1234,
                  parallel = TRUE)
```

These are the new arguments used:

- `R`: The number of replications used
  to generate the Monte Carlo simulated
  estimates, 2000 in this example. In
  real studies, this number should be
  10000 or even 20000 for Monte Carlo
  confidence intervals. However, 2000
  is sufficient because the goal is to
  estimate power by generating many
  intervals, rather
  than to have one single stable interval.

- `ci_type`: The method used to
  generate estimates. Support both Monte
  Carlo (`"mc"`) and nonparametric
  bootstrapping (`"boot"`).^[They
  are implemented by `manymome::do_mc()`
  and `manymome::do_boot()`, respectively.]
  Although bootstrapping is usually used
  to test an indirect effect, it is very
  slow to do `R` bootstrapping in `nrep`
  datasets (the model will be fitted
  `R * nrep` times). Therefore, it is
  preferable to use Monte Carlo confidence
  intervals to do
  the initial estimation.

- `test_fun`: The function to be used
  to do the test for each replication.
  Any function following a specific
  requirement can be used, and
  `power4mome` comes with several
  built-in functions for some common tests.
  The function `test_indirect_effect()`
  is used to test an indirect effect
  in the model.

- `test_args`: A named list of arguments
  to be supplied to `test_fun`.
  For `test_indirect_effect()`, it is
  a named list specifying the predictor
  (`x`), the mediator(s) (`m`), and
  the outcome (`y`). A path with any
  number of mediators can be supported.
  Please refer to the help page of
  `test_indirect_effect()`.^[The test
  is implemented by `manymome::indirect()`.]

- `parallel`: If the test to be conducted
  is slow, which is the case for
  tests done by Monte Carlo or nonparametric
  bootstrapping confidence intervals,
  it is advised to enable parallel
  processing by setting `parallel` to
  `TRUE`.^[The number of cores is determined
  automatically but can be set directly
  by the `ncores` argument.]

For `nrep = 400`, the 95% confidence
limits
for a power of .80 are about .04 below
and above .80. This should be precise
enough for determining whether a
sample size has sufficient power.

This is the default printout:


``` r
out
#> 
#> ====================== Model Information ======================
#> 
#> == Model on Factors/Variables ==
#> 
#> m ~ x
#> y ~ m + x
#> 
#> == Model on Variables/Indicators ==
#> 
#> m ~ x
#> y ~ m + x
#> 
#> ====== Population Values ======
#> 
#> Regressions:
#>                    Population
#>   m ~                        
#>     x                 0.500  
#>   y ~                        
#>     m                 0.300  
#>     x                 0.100  
#> 
#> Variances:
#>                    Population
#>    .m                 0.750  
#>    .y                 0.870  
#>     x                 1.000  
#> 
#> (Computing indirect effects for 2 paths ...)
#> 
#> == Population Conditional/Indirect Effect(s) ==
#> 
#> == Indirect Effect(s) ==
#> 
#>               ind
#> x -> m -> y 0.150
#> x -> y      0.100
#> 
#>  - The 'ind' column shows the indirect effect(s).
#>  
#> ======================= Data Information =======================
#> 
#> Number of Replications:  400 
#> Sample Sizes:  50 
#> 
#> Call print with 'data_long = TRUE' for further information.
#> 
#> ==================== Extra Element(s) Found ====================
#> 
#> - fit
#> - mc_out
#> 
#> === Element(s) of the First Dataset ===
#> 
#> ============ <fit> ============
#> 
#> lavaan 0.6-19 ended normally after 1 iteration
#> 
#>   Estimator                                         ML
#>   Optimization method                           NLMINB
#>   Number of model parameters                         5
#> 
#>   Number of observations                            50
#> 
#> Model Test User Model:
#>                                                       
#>   Test statistic                                 0.000
#>   Degrees of freedom                                 0
#> 
#> =========== <mc_out> ===========
#> 
#> 
#> == A 'mc_out' class object ==
#> 
#> Number of Monte Carlo replications: 2000 
#> 
#> 
#> ====================== Test(s) Conducted ======================
#> 
#> - test_indirect: x->m->y
#> 
#> Call print() and set 'test_long = TRUE' for a detailed report.
```

If `test_long = TRUE` is added when printing
the output by `print()`, a summary of the
test will also be printed.

```r
print(out,
      test_long = TRUE)
```

The summary of the test:


```
#>                                                       
#>   Test statistic                                 0.000
#>   Degrees of freedom                                 0
#> 
#> =========== <mc_out> ===========
#> 
#> 
#> == A 'mc_out' class object ==
#> 
#> Number of Monte Carlo replications: 2000
```

The mean of the estimates across all the
replications is 0.152, close to
the population value.

## Compute the Power

The power estimate is simply the proportion
of significant results, the *rejection*
*rate*, because the
null hypothesis is false. In addition to
using `test_long = TRUE` in `print()`,
the rejection
rate can also be retrieved by
`rejection_rates()`.


``` r
out_power <- rejection_rates(out)
out_power
#> [test]: test_indirect: x->m->y 
#> [test_label]: Test 
#>     est   p.v reject r.cilo r.cihi
#> 1 0.152 1.000  0.468  0.419  0.516
#> Notes:
#> - p.v: The proportion of valid replications.
#> - est: The mean of the estimates in a test across replications.
#> - reject: The proportion of 'significant' replications, that is, the
#>   rejection rate. If the null hypothesis is true, this is the Type I
#>   error rate. If the null hypothesis is false, this is the power.
#> - r.cilo,r.cihi: The confidence interval of the rejection rate, based
#>   on normal approximation.
#> - Refer to the tests for the meanings of other columns.
```



In the example above, the estimated
power of the test of the indirect
effect, conducted by Monte Carlo
confidence intervals, is
0.468, under the column
`reject`.

`p.v` is
the proportion of valid results
across replications. `1.000` means that
the test conducted normally in all
replications.

By default, the 95% confidence interval
of the rejection rate (power)
based on normal approximation is
also printed, under the column
`r.cilo` and `r.cihi`. In this example,
the 95% confidence interval is
[0.419; 0.516].

# Moderation

Let's consider a moderation model,
with some control variables.

## Specify the Population Model and Values {#pop_es_xw}


``` r
mod2 <-
"
y ~ x + w + x:w + control
"
```

This model has only moderation, with
the predictor `x` and the moderator
`w`. The product term is included in
the `lavaan` style, `x:w`.

It is
unrealistic to specific the population
values for all control variables. Therefore,
we can just add a *proxy*, `control`
to represent the *set of control variables*
that may be included.

This is the syntax for the population
values:


``` r
mod2_es <-
"
.beta.: s
x ~~ control: s
y ~ control: s
y ~ x:w: l
"
```

This example introduces one useful
tag, `.beta.` For a model with many
paths, it is inconvenient to specify
all of them manually. The tag `.beta.`
specifies the *default value* for
*all regression paths not specified explicitly*,
which is small (.10)
in this example. If a path is explicitly
included (such as `y ~ control` and
`y ~ x:w`), the manually specified value
will be used instead of `.beta.`.

This example also illustrates that we
can set the population values for
*correlations* (covariances in the
standardized solution). Control variables
are included usually because they may
correlate with the predictors. Therefore,
in this example, it is hypothesized
that there is a small correlation between
`x` and the proxy control variable (`x ~~ control: s`).

Last, recall from [this section](#es_convention)
that the convention for product term
values is different: `l` denotes
.15 for product terms.

## Call `power4test()` to Check the Model

We check the model first:


``` r
out2 <- power4test(nrep = 2,
                   model = mod2,
                   pop_es = mod2_es,
                   n = 50000,
                   iseed = 1234)
```


``` r
print(out2,
      data_long = TRUE)
#> 
#> ====================== Model Information ======================
#> 
#> == Model on Factors/Variables ==
#> 
#> y ~ x + w + x:w + control
#> 
#> == Model on Variables/Indicators ==
#> 
#> y ~ x + w + x:w + control
#> 
#> ====== Population Values ======
#> 
#> Regressions:
#>                    Population
#>   y ~                        
#>     x                 0.100  
#>     w                 0.100  
#>     x:w               0.150  
#>     control           0.100  
#> 
#> Covariances:
#>                    Population
#>   x ~~                       
#>     w                 0.000  
#>     x:w               0.000  
#>     control           0.100  
#>   w ~~                       
#>     x:w               0.000  
#>     control           0.000  
#>   x:w ~~                     
#>     control           0.000  
#> 
#> Variances:
#>                    Population
#>    .y                 0.945  
#>     x                 1.000  
#>     w                 1.000  
#>     x:w               1.000  
#>     control           1.000  
#> 
#> (Computing indirect effects for 1 paths ...)
#> 
#> (Computing conditional effects for 2 paths ...)
#> 
#> == Population Conditional/Indirect Effect(s) ==
#> 
#> == Effect(s) ==
#> 
#>                ind
#> control -> y 0.100
#> 
#>  - The 'ind' column shows the effect(s).
#>  
#> == Conditional effects ==
#> 
#>  Path: x -> y
#>  Conditional on moderator(s): w
#>  Moderator(s) represented by: w
#> 
#>       [w] (w)    ind
#> 1 M+1.0SD   1  0.250
#> 2 Mean      0  0.100
#> 3 M-1.0SD  -1 -0.050
#> 
#>  - The 'ind' column shows the conditional effects.
#>  
#> 
#> == Conditional effects ==
#> 
#>  Path: w -> y
#>  Conditional on moderator(s): x
#>  Moderator(s) represented by: x
#> 
#>       [x] (x)    ind
#> 1 M+1.0SD   1  0.250
#> 2 Mean      0  0.100
#> 3 M-1.0SD  -1 -0.050
#> 
#>  - The 'ind' column shows the conditional effects.
#>  
#> 
#> ======================= Data Information =======================
#> 
#> Number of Replications:  2 
#> Sample Sizes:  50000 
#> 
#> ==== Descriptive Statistics ====
#> 
#>         vars     n mean sd  skew kurtosis se
#> y          1 1e+05 0.00  1  0.02     0.01  0
#> x          2 1e+05 0.00  1  0.01     0.01  0
#> w          3 1e+05 0.00  1  0.00    -0.02  0
#> x:w        4 1e+05 0.00  1 -0.03     6.01  0
#> control    5 1e+05 0.01  1  0.00     0.00  0
#> 
#> ===== Parameter Estimates Based on All 2 Samples Combined =====
#> 
#> Total Sample Size: 100000 
#> 
#> ==== Standardized Estimates ====
#> 
#> Variances and error variances omitted.
#> 
#> Regressions:
#>                     est.std
#>   y ~                      
#>     x                 0.097
#>     w                 0.104
#>     x:w               0.152
#>     control           0.099
#> 
#> Covariances:
#>                     est.std
#>   x ~~                     
#>     w                -0.003
#>     x:w               0.002
#>     control           0.101
#>   w ~~                     
#>     x:w              -0.004
#>     control           0.001
#>   x:w ~~                   
#>     control           0.004
#> 
#> 
#> ==================== Extra Element(s) Found ====================
#> 
#> - fit
#> 
#> === Element(s) of the First Dataset ===
#> 
#> ============ <fit> ============
#> 
#> lavaan 0.6-19 ended normally after 1 iteration
#> 
#>   Estimator                                         ML
#>   Optimization method                           NLMINB
#>   Number of model parameters                         5
#> 
#>   Number of observations                         50000
#> 
#> Model Test User Model:
#>                                                       
#>   Test statistic                                 0.000
#>   Degrees of freedom                                 0
```



The population values for the regression
paths are what we specified, and the
estimates based on 5 &times; 10<sup>4</sup>
by 2 or
100000
support that the dataset were generated
correctly.

NOTE: If a product term is involved,
and the component terms (`x` and `w` in this
example) are correlated, the population
standard deviation of this product term
may not be equal to one [@bohrnstedt_exact_1969].
Therefore, the
model can be specified correctly even if
the standard deviations of product terms
in the section `Descriptive Statistics`
are not close to one.

## Call `power4test()` to Test The Moderation Effect

We can now do the simulation to estimate
power. In this simple model, the test
is just a test of the product term,
`x:w`. This model can be fitted by
linear regression using `lm()`. Let's
estimate the power when the sample size
is 50 and the model is fitted by `lm()`:


``` r
out2 <- power4test(nrep = 400,
                   model = mod2,
                   pop_es = mod2_es,
                   n = 100,
                   fit_model_args = list(fit_function = "lm"),
                   test_fun = test_moderation,
                   iseed = 1234,
                   parallel = TRUE)
```

These are the new arguments used:

- `fit_model_args`: This named list
  stores additional arguments for `fit_model()`.
  By default, `lavaan::sem()` is used.
  To fit the model by linear regression
  using `lm()`, add `fit_function = "lm"`
  to the list.^[See the help page of
  `fit_model()` on other available
  arguments.]

- `test_fun`: It is set to
  `test_moderation`, provided by `power4mome`.
  This function automatically identifies
  all product terms in a model and
  test them. The test used depends
  on method used to fit the model.
  If `lm()` is used, then the usual
  *t* test is used.^[The test name
  has `CIs` in it but this is
  equivalent to using the *t* test
  when the model is fitted by `lm()`.]

## Compute the Power

We can ues `rejection_rates()`
again to estimate the power:


``` r
out2_power <- rejection_rates(out2)
out2_power
#> [test]: test_moderation: CIs  
#> [test_label]: y~x:w 
#>     est   p.v reject r.cilo r.cihi
#> 1 0.158 1.000  0.347  0.301  0.394
#> Notes:
#> - p.v: The proportion of valid replications.
#> - est: The mean of the estimates in a test across replications.
#> - reject: The proportion of 'significant' replications, that is, the
#>   rejection rate. If the null hypothesis is true, this is the Type I
#>   error rate. If the null hypothesis is false, this is the power.
#> - r.cilo,r.cihi: The confidence interval of the rejection rate, based
#>   on normal approximation.
#> - Refer to the tests for the meanings of other columns.
```



The estimated
power of the test of the product term,
`x:w`, is
0.347, with 95% confidence
interval [0.301; 0.394].

# Moderated mediation

Let's consider a moderated mediation
model.

## Specify the Population Model and Values


``` r
mod3 <-
"
m ~ x + w + x:w
y ~ m + x
"
```

This model is a mediation model with
the *a*-path, `m ~ x`, moderated by
`w`. As explained before, there is
no need to use any label nor define
and parameters. This will be handled
by the test function to be used.

This is the syntax for the population
values:


``` r
mod3_es <-
"
.beta.: s
m ~ x: m
y ~ m: m
m ~ x:w: s
"
```

Please refer to [the previous section](#pop_es_xw)
on setting up this syntax.

## Call `power4test()` to Check the Model

We check the model first:


``` r
out3 <- power4test(nrep = 2,
                   model = mod3,
                   pop_es = mod3_es,
                   n = 50000,
                   iseed = 1234)
```


``` r
print(out3,
      data_long = TRUE)
#> 
#> ====================== Model Information ======================
#> 
#> == Model on Factors/Variables ==
#> 
#> m ~ x + w + x:w
#> y ~ m + x
#> 
#> == Model on Variables/Indicators ==
#> 
#> m ~ x + w + x:w
#> y ~ m + x
#> 
#> ====== Population Values ======
#> 
#> Regressions:
#>                    Population
#>   m ~                        
#>     x                 0.300  
#>     w                 0.100  
#>     x:w               0.050  
#>   y ~                        
#>     m                 0.300  
#>     x                 0.100  
#> 
#> Covariances:
#>                    Population
#>   x ~~                       
#>     w                 0.000  
#>     x:w               0.000  
#>   w ~~                       
#>     x:w               0.000  
#> 
#> Variances:
#>                    Population
#>    .m                 0.898  
#>    .y                 0.881  
#>     x                 1.000  
#>     w                 1.000  
#>     x:w               1.000  
#> 
#> (Computing indirect effects for 1 paths ...)
#> 
#> (Computing conditional effects for 2 paths ...)
#> 
#> == Population Conditional/Indirect Effect(s) ==
#> 
#> == Effect(s) ==
#> 
#>          ind
#> x -> y 0.100
#> 
#>  - The 'ind' column shows the effect(s).
#>  
#> == Conditional indirect effects ==
#> 
#>  Path: x -> m -> y
#>  Conditional on moderator(s): w
#>  Moderator(s) represented by: w
#> 
#>       [w] (w)   ind   m~x   y~m
#> 1 M+1.0SD   1 0.105 0.350 0.300
#> 2 Mean      0 0.090 0.300 0.300
#> 3 M-1.0SD  -1 0.075 0.250 0.300
#> 
#>  - The 'ind' column shows the conditional indirect effects.
#>  - 'm~x','y~m' is/are the path coefficient(s) along the path conditional
#>    on the moderator(s).
#> 
#> 
#> == Conditional indirect effects ==
#> 
#>  Path: w -> m -> y
#>  Conditional on moderator(s): x
#>  Moderator(s) represented by: x
#> 
#>       [x] (x)   ind   m~w   y~m
#> 1 M+1.0SD   1 0.045 0.150 0.300
#> 2 Mean      0 0.030 0.100 0.300
#> 3 M-1.0SD  -1 0.015 0.050 0.300
#> 
#>  - The 'ind' column shows the conditional indirect effects.
#>  - 'm~w','y~m' is/are the path coefficient(s) along the path conditional
#>    on the moderator(s).
#> 
#> 
#> ======================= Data Information =======================
#> 
#> Number of Replications:  2 
#> Sample Sizes:  50000 
#> 
#> ==== Descriptive Statistics ====
#> 
#>     vars     n mean sd skew kurtosis se
#> m      1 1e+05    0  1 0.03     0.03  0
#> y      2 1e+05    0  1 0.01    -0.01  0
#> x      3 1e+05    0  1 0.00    -0.02  0
#> w      4 1e+05    0  1 0.00     0.01  0
#> x:w    5 1e+05    0  1 0.04     5.92  0
#> 
#> ===== Parameter Estimates Based on All 2 Samples Combined =====
#> 
#> Total Sample Size: 100000 
#> 
#> ==== Standardized Estimates ====
#> 
#> Variances and error variances omitted.
#> 
#> Regressions:
#>                     est.std
#>   m ~                      
#>     x                 0.303
#>     w                 0.099
#>     x:w               0.052
#>   y ~                      
#>     m                 0.299
#>     x                 0.098
#> 
#> Covariances:
#>                     est.std
#>   x ~~                     
#>     w                 0.003
#>     x:w              -0.001
#>   w ~~                     
#>     x:w               0.008
#> 
#> 
#> ==================== Extra Element(s) Found ====================
#> 
#> - fit
#> 
#> === Element(s) of the First Dataset ===
#> 
#> ============ <fit> ============
#> 
#> lavaan 0.6-19 ended normally after 1 iteration
#> 
#>   Estimator                                         ML
#>   Optimization method                           NLMINB
#>   Number of model parameters                         7
#> 
#>   Number of observations                         50000
#> 
#> Model Test User Model:
#>                                                       
#>   Test statistic                                 0.007
#>   Degrees of freedom                                 2
#>   P-value (Chi-square)                           0.997
```



The population values and the
estimates based on 5 &times; 10<sup>4</sup>
by 2 or
100000
are what we expect.

## Call `power4test()` to Test The Moderated Mediation Effect

To estimate the power of a
moderated mediation effect, we can
test the *index of moderated mediation*
[@hayes_index_2015]. In this example,
it is the product of the coefficient
`m ~ x:w` and the coefficient `y ~ m`.
This can be done by the test function
`test_index_of_mome()`, provided
by `power4mome`. Again, Monte
Carlo confidence interval is used.

Let's estimate
the power when sample size is 100.


``` r
out3 <- power4test(nrep = 400,
                   model = mod3,
                   pop_es = mod3_es,
                   n = 100,
                   R = 2000,
                   ci_type = "mc",
                   test_fun = test_index_of_mome,
                   test_args = list(x = "x",
                                    m = "m",
                                    y = "y",
                                    w = "w",
                                    mc_ci = TRUE),
                   iseed = 1234,
                   parallel = TRUE)
```

The call is similar to the one used in
[testing mediation](#med_power).

This is the new argument used:

- `test_fun`: It is set to
  `test_index_of_mome()` in this example.
  This function is similar to
  `test_indirect_effect()`, with one
  more argument, `w`, for the moderator.
  Although this example has only one mediator,
  it support any number of mediators
  along a path.^[The test is implemented
  by `manymome::test_index_of_mome()`.]

## Compute the Power

We can ues `rejection_rates()`
again to estimate the power:


``` r
out3_power <- rejection_rates(out3)
out3_power
#> [test]: test_index_of_mome: x->m->y, moderated by w 
#> [test_label]: Test 
#>     est   p.v reject r.cilo r.cihi
#> 1 0.016 1.000  0.055  0.033  0.077
#> Notes:
#> - p.v: The proportion of valid replications.
#> - est: The mean of the estimates in a test across replications.
#> - reject: The proportion of 'significant' replications, that is, the
#>   rejection rate. If the null hypothesis is true, this is the Type I
#>   error rate. If the null hypothesis is false, this is the power.
#> - r.cilo,r.cihi: The confidence interval of the rejection rate, based
#>   on normal approximation.
#> - Refer to the tests for the meanings of other columns.
```



The estimated
power of the test of moderated mediation
effect, conducted by a test of the
index of moderated mediation, is
0.055,
95% confidence interval [0.033; 0.077].

Unlike the previous example on moderation
tested by regression, estimating the power
of Monte Carlo confidence intervals is
substantially slower. However,
this is necessary because Monte Carlo
or nonparametric bootstrapping
confidence interval is the test usually
used in moderated mediation (and mediation).

# Repeating a Simulation With A Different Sample Size {#new_n}

The function `power4test()` also supports
*redoing* an analysis using a new value
for the sample size (or population effect sizes
set to `pop_es`). Simply

- set the output of `power4test` as the first
argument, and

- set the *new value* for `n`.

For example, we can repeat the
simulation for the test of moderation [above](#pop_es_xw),
but for a sample size of 200. We
simply call `power4test()` again,
set the previous output (`out2` in
the example for moderation) as the
first argument, and set `n` to a new
value (200 in this example):


``` r
out2_new_n <- power4test(out2,
                         n = 200)
out2_new_n
```



This is the estimated power when
the sample size is 200.


``` r
out2_new_n_reject <- rejection_rates(out2_new_n)
out2_new_n_reject
#> [test]: test_moderation: CIs  
#> [test_label]: y~x:w 
#>     est   p.v reject r.cilo r.cihi
#> 1 0.148 1.000  0.527  0.479  0.576
#> Notes:
#> - p.v: The proportion of valid replications.
#> - est: The mean of the estimates in a test across replications.
#> - reject: The proportion of 'significant' replications, that is, the
#>   rejection rate. If the null hypothesis is true, this is the Type I
#>   error rate. If the null hypothesis is false, this is the power.
#> - r.cilo,r.cihi: The confidence interval of the rejection rate, based
#>   on normal approximation.
#> - Refer to the tests for the meanings of other columns.
```



The estimated power is 0.527,
95% confidence interval
[0.479; 0.576],
when the sample size is
200.

This technique can be
repeated to find the required sample
size for a target power, and can be
used for all the other scenarios covered
above, such as mediation and
moderated mediation.

# Find the Sample Size With The Desired Power

There are several more efficient ways to
find the sample size with the desired power.

## Using `n_region_from_power()`

The function `n_region_from_power()`
can be used to find the *region* of
sample sizes likely to have the desired
power. If the default settings are
to be used, then it can be called
directly on the output of `power4test()`:


``` r
out2_region <- n_region_from_power(out2,
                                   seed = 2345)
```

This is the recommended way for sample
size planning, when there is no predetermined
range of sample sizes.

See
[the templates](https://sfcheung.github.io/power4mome/articles/)
for examples on using `n_region_from_power()`
for common models.

## Using `power4test_by_n()`

The function
`power4test_by_n()` can be used To
estimate the power for a sequence of
sample sizes. For example, we
can estimate the power in the moderation
model above for these sample sizes:
250, 300, 350, 400.


``` r
out2_several_ns <- power4test_by_n(out2,
                                   n = c(250, 300, 350, 400),
                                   by_seed = 4567)
```

The first argument is the output
of `power4test()` for an arbitrary sample size.

The argument `n` is a numeric vector of
sample sizes to examine.

The argument `by_seed`, if set to an integer,
try to make the results reproducible.

The call will take some times to run because
it is equivalent to calling `power4test()`
once for each sample size.

The rejection rates for each sample size
can be retrieved by `rejection_rates()`
too:


``` r
rejection_rates(out2_several_ns)
#> [test]: test_moderation: CIs  
#> [test_label]: y~x:w 
#>     n   est   p.v reject r.cilo r.cihi
#> 1 250 0.149 1.000  0.660  0.614  0.706
#> 2 300 0.150 1.000  0.733  0.689  0.776
#> 3 350 0.151 1.000  0.810  0.772  0.848
#> 4 400 0.150 1.000  0.850  0.815  0.885
#> Notes:
#> - n: The sample size in a trial.
#> - p.v: The proportion of valid replications.
#> - est: The mean of the estimates in a test across replications.
#> - reject: The proportion of 'significant' replications, that is, the
#>   rejection rate. If the null hypothesis is true, this is the Type I
#>   error rate. If the null hypothesis is false, this is the power.
#> - r.cilo,r.cihi: The confidence interval of the rejection rate, based
#>   on normal approximation.
#> - Refer to the tests for the meanings of other columns.
```

The results show that, to have a power of
about .800 to detect the moderation effect,
a sample size of about 350 is needed.

This approach is used when the range of
sample sizes has already been decided and
the levels of power are needed to determine
the final sample size.

Please refer to the
help page of `power4test_by_n()`
for other examples.

## Using `x_from_power()`

The function `x_from_power()`
can be used to systematically search
within an interval the sample size with
the target power. This takes longer to
run but, instead of manually trying
different sample size, this function
do the search automatically.

This approach can be used when the goal
is to find the probable minimum or
maximum sample size with the desired
level of power. The first approach,
using `n_region_from_power()`, simply
uses this approach twice to find the region
of sample sizes.

See
[this article](https://sfcheung.github.io/power4mome/articles/x_from_power_for_n.html)
for an illustration of how to use
`x_from_power()`.

# Other Advanced Features

This brief illustration only covers the
basic features of `power4mome`. These
are other advanced features to be
covered in other articles:

- There is no inherent restriction on the
  form of the model. Typical models that
  can be specified in `lavaan` model
  syntax can be the population model,
  although there may be special models
  in which `power4test` does not yet support.

- The population model can be a model
  with latent factors and indicators.
  Nevertheless, users can specify only
  the relation among the factors.
  There is no need to include indicators
  in the model syntax, and also no need
  to manually specify the factor loadings.
  The number of indicators for each
  factor and the factor loadings are
  set by the argument `number_of_indicators`
  and `reliability` (see the help page
  of `sim_data()` on how to set them).
  The model syntax used to fit to the
  data will automatically include the
  indicators. An introduction can be
  found in `vignette("power4test_latent_mediation")`.
  Examples can be found in
  [templates](https://sfcheung.github.io/power4mome/articles/)
  for models with latent variables.

- Though not illustrated above,
  estimating the power of tests
  conducted by nonparametric
  bootstrapping is supported, although
  it will take longer to run.

- Although this package focuses on
  moderation, mediation, and
  moderated mediation, in principle,
  the power of any test can be estimated,
  as long as a test function for
  `test_fun` is available. Some other
  functions are provided with `power4mome`
  (e.g., `test_parameters()` for testing
  all free model parameters). See the
  help page of `do_test()` on how to
  write a function to do a test not
  available in `power4mome`.

- When estimating power, usually the
  population model is fitted to the
  data. However, it is possible to
  fit any other model to the generated
  data. This can be done by using
  the argument `fit_model_args` to
  set the argument `model` of
  `fit_model()`.

- Preliminary support for
  multigroup model is available.
  See the help pages of `ptable_pop()`
  and `pop_es_yaml()` on how to
  specify the population value syntax.
  Functions will be added for tests
  relevant to multigroup models (e.g.,
  testing the between-group difference
  in an indirect effect).

- Although we illustrated only rerunning
  an analysis with a new sample size (`n`),
  it is also possible to rerun an analysis
  using a new population value for a
  parameter. This can be done by using
  the previous output of `power4test()`
  as the first argument, and setting
  only `pop_es` to a named vector:

```r
out2_new_xw <- power4test(out2,
                          pop_es = c("y ~ x:w" = ".30"))
```

- Basic support for generating
  nonnormal variables, including
  dichotomous variables is available. See the
  argument `x_fun` of `power4test()`
  for details.

# Limitations

- Monte Carlo confidence interval is
  not supported for models fitted by
  `lm()` (regression). To estimate
  power of testing mediation or
  moderated mediation effects
  in models fitted by `lm()`,
  `ci_type = "boot"` is needed.

# References
