What is the best program for MSEM? Student Request

[Knowledge Sponge]

My research requires using the multilevel structural equation model (MSEM). I've read countless articles related to MSEM and I have not been able to pinpoint the best program. They vary from SPSS, MPlus, SAS, LISREL, AMOS, R2, etc. Any recommendations? I've asked around my academic circle and can't get a clear answer. I currently have R2 and SAS but I was leaning towards SPSS or MPlus. This is an out of pocket expense and I don't want to purchase an ineffective program that can't handle the enormous amount of data.

Here's the basic information for my research:
3 levels
Nested within- and between-
Level 1- Group
Level 2- Confounding Variables = quantity 3
Level 3- Latent Variables = quantity 6
Data source is 33 Likert-type questions on a 5-point scale
Sample size range 250-800

I plan to run the following tests:
EFS: Bartlett's test, KMO anti-image correlation matrix RMSEA, SRMSRb and cut-off factor loading CA Culmulative variance.
PLS: loadings, cross-loadings, Fronell-Larcker criterion, CA, CR, and AVE.
GoF: R2, CFI, and TLI.
I will also calculate R2, f2, and Q2.

Thank you in advance for your recommendations.

 

[jedishrfu]

Have you looked at Matlab and any of its statistical toolboxes? The student price is reasonable.

Alternatives would be Octave, numerical Python, or Julia. Julia is interesting and can interoperate with other languages like C, R, Python and Fortran.

 

[Knowledge Sponge]

No, I am not familiar with Matlab. I will definitely look it up along with the other ones you recommended. Thank you very much!