Statistical analysis helps researchers understand relationships between variables, but sometimes identifying a relationship is not enough. Researchers also want to understand the mechanism through which one variable may influence another.

This is where mediation analysis becomes useful.

Mediation analysis is widely applied in psychology, marketing, management, education, and social science research. In this tutorial, we will explore the basic mediation model, its path coefficients, the indirect effect, and how researchers can approach the analysis.

What Is Mediation Analysis?

Mediation analysis investigates whether the relationship between an independent variable and an outcome operates through an intermediate variable called a mediator.

Consider a marketing study examining whether social media marketing influences purchase intention through brand awareness.

The variables are:

X — Independent variable:Social media marketing

M — Mediator: Brand awareness

Y — Dependent variable: Purchase…