On desirability of parsimony in structural equation model selection

Abstract This article is concerned with issues in structural equation model selection that pertain to the general utility of the well‐known principle of parsimony. An example is provided using data generated by a relatively nonparsimonious simplex model and fitted rather well by a parsimonious growth curve model that belongs to a different class of models. Implications for empirical research are subsequently discussed, with emphasis on the extent to which one may be willing to routinely use parsimony as the only principle to follow in structural model selection.