Dear community, I am working on my thesis data and my data analysis shows that there is no relationship between IV and DV, only the indirect relationship exist in presence of 2 mediators (serial mediation). Whereas the literature supports the positive relationship between the IV and DV.
The r square value for the same is very low 0.052.
*all the measurement model criteria i.e, loadings, Cronbach alpha, ave, htmt, vif value meet the criteria.
* all other relationships are significant (iv-mediator-dv)
Now my question is what could be the possible reason for insignificant relationship between IV and DV.
How should I proceed with this.
Why the value of r square for main DV is so low , whereas for mediators its 0.45 and 0.52.
*If I proceed with the same, would it create any problem at time of my PhD Defence.
Is it possible that the effect of the IV on the DV is fully mediated so that you obtain a non-significant direct effect of the IV on the DV once you include your mediator variables in the model?
Other (or additional) reasons for a non-significant direct effect are manifold and difficult to assess without seeing exactly what you did. For example, this finding may also be due to a small sample (causing a lack of statistical power), outliers/extreme values, data errors, or multicollinearity. Whether or not it is a problem depends on the reasons for why you are seeing this effect.
Thank you Christian Geiser , My sample size is 530. My IV is measure through 6 variables combined to form a 2nd order reflective-formative construct, then there are 2 mediators and one DV (all reflective 1st order).
Yes My DV is fully mediated through the 2 mediators (the indirect and total effect are significant).
All measurement criteria are as per the values recommended in the literature.
My confusion is why the value of r-square is too low, is it because of the insignificant relationship between IV and DV. But as the relationship with mediators are significant shouldn't it improved.
[ values of R-square and R-square adjusted
Mediator 1 - 0.474 0.473
*Dependent Variable - 0.057* 0.054
Mediator 2- 0.434 0.432 ]
Problem in data: Check Multicollinearity, autocorrelation, and heteroscedasticity. Try to fix these issues, if found.
Thank you, Faheem Uddin Syed for your suggestion. But my data is not facing any such issue.
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