PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

David W. Gerbing

Also known as David Gerbing

David Gerbing is a Portland State professor whose teaching brings machine learning and deep learning into applied data science. He studied quantitative methods at Western Washington State College and completed graduate study at Michigan State, earning his doctorate in 1979. In 1988, he published a review of structural equation modeling in Psychological Bulletin. His 2023 book presents the R package lessR alongside machine-learning regression, and his 2024 paper introduces a plot that combines violin, box, and scatter displays.

Works
73
Citations
56,396
h-index
19

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 19 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1979

    Quantitative methods doctorate

    His credentials include a quantitative methods B.A. from Western Washington State College and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Michigan State; he earns the Ph.D. in 1979.

  2. 1988

    Structural equation modeling

    In 1988, with James C. Anderson, he publishes a review of structural equation modeling in Psychological Bulletin, titled “Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach.”

  3. 2023

    An R data analysis book

    In 2023, he publishes the second edition of R Data Analysis without Programming: Explanation and Interpretation, using lessR for R analysis and treating regression from traditional and machine-learning perspectives.

  4. 2024

    The integrated VBS plot

    In 2024, he presents the VBS plot, a function that combines violin, box, and scatter views of continuous data and tunes the plot to sample size and data discreteness.

  5. As of October 2026

    Teaching machine learning

    In 2026, he is a professor in Portland State University's Masters of Applied Data Science for Business program, teaching courses in machine learning, deep learning, neural networks, and data visualization.

Career

  1. Since 1987Portland State UniversityProfessor
  2. 1982–1987Baylor University

Education

  1. 1979Michigan State UniversityM.A. and Ph.D.
  2. Western Washington State CollegeB.A. in quantitative methods

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Most-cited works

  1. Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach1988 · Psychological Bulletin · 41,806 citations
  2. An Updated Paradigm for Scale Development Incorporating Unidimensionality and Its Assessment1988 · Journal of Marketing Research · 6,287 citations
  3. The Effect of Sampling Error on Convergence, Improper Solutions, and Goodness-of-Fit Indices for Maximum Likelihood Confirmatory Factor Analysis1984 · Psychometrika · 1,833 citations
  4. Monte Carlo Evaluations of Goodness of Fit Indices for Structural Equation Models1992 · Sociological Methods & Research · 1,045 citations
  5. Predicting the performance of measures in a confirmatory factor analysis with a pretest assessment of their substantive validities1991 · Journal of Applied Psychology · 1,036 citations

From OpenAlex, as of 19 October 2026.

  1. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers rose from 2% to 32%Includes Portland State University. We estimate where leading AI researchers worked when their most-cited papers appeared. The company share rose from 2% in 1975–1979 to 32% in 2020–2024.
  2. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Michigan State University. Our estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.
  3. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes Michigan State University. Our estimates of combined and median h-index at AI organizations, using current affiliations and OpenAlex records.
  4. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI from 1961 to 2025, with a year-by-year chart.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of David W. Gerbing yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. David Gerbing | Portland State University pdx.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  2. David Gerbing cascadiarconf.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  3. Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. | Rankless rankless.org. Checked 19 October 2026.
  4. R Data Analysis without Programming: Explanation and Interpretation routledge.com. Checked 19 October 2026.
  5. The Integrated Violin-Box-Scatter (VBS) Plot to Visualize the Distribution of a Continuous Variable ideas.repec.org. Checked 19 October 2026.