Semify Work

Semify - Semify generates practice datasets from your research models

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**The Problem** Graduate students learning Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) face a catch-22: you need to practice running analyses to get good at it, but data collection is expensive, time-consuming, and requires IRB approval. Most students don't touch SEM until their dissertation—when the stakes are highest. **The Solution** SEM Chatbot generates synthetic practice datasets from your hypothetical research models. Think of it as a "flight simulator" for quantitative methodology.

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Hey Product Hunt! 👋 I'm Sebastian, and I built SEM Chatbot after a frustrating experience in grad school. **The backstory**: I spent an entire semester learning SEM theory—reading papers, watching lectures, memorizing fit indices. But when it came time to run my first real analysis (on my dissertation data), I froze. I'd never actually *done* it before. No practice, no sandbox, no safety net. That's when I realized: we don't let surgeons practice on real patients first. Why do we expect stats students to execute perfectly on their first try with real data? **What I built**: A free tool where students can generate synthetic datasets matching their research ideas, then practice SEM analyses without consequences. It's not fancy—just a chatbot, a graph editor, and a CSV download. But it solves a real problem. **What it's NOT**: This isn't for fabricating research data or replacing real studies. It's practice. Like how musicians use practice pads before performing, or how developers use staging environments before production deploys. **I'd love your feedback on**: - Is the chatbot conversational enough, or too robotic? - Should I add more customization options (missing data, non-normality, etc.)? - Would other statistical methods benefit from this approach (multilevel modeling, mediation analysis)? - How can I make the "this is for practice only" message even clearer? Super grateful for this community's support. Hit me with tough questions—I'm here all day! 🔗 Try it and let me know what breaks: www.semify.work