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1.
As a prerequisite for meaningful comparison of latent variables across multiple populations, measurement invariance or specifically factorial invariance has often been evaluated in social science research. Alongside with the changes in the model chi-square values, the comparative fit index (CFI; Bentler, 1990) is a widely used fit index for evaluating different stages of factorial invariance, including metric invariance (equal factor loadings), scalar invariance (equal intercepts), and strict invariance (equal unique factor variances). Although previous literature generally showed that the CFI performed well for single-group structural equation modeling analyses, its applicability to multiple group analyses such as factorial invariance studies has not been examined. In this study we argue that the commonly used default baseline model for the CFI might not be suitable for factorial invariance studies because (a) it is not nested within the scalar invariance model, and thus (b) the resulting CFI values might not be sensitive to the group differences in the measurement model. We therefore proposed a modified version of the CFI with an alternative (and less restrictive) baseline model that allows observed variables to be correlated. Monte Carlo simulation studies were conducted to evaluate the utility of this modified CFI across various conditions including varying degree of noninvariance and different factorial invariance models. Results showed that the modified CFI outperformed both the conventional CFI and the ΔCFI (Cheung & Rensvold, 2002) in terms of sensitivity to small and medium noninvariance.  相似文献   

2.
The alignment method (Asparouhov & Muthén, 2014) is an alternative to multiple-group factor analysis for estimating measurement models and testing for measurement invariance across groups. Simulation studies evaluating the performance of the alignment for estimating measurement models across groups show promising results for continuous indicators. This simulation study builds on previous research by investigating the performance of the alignment method’s measurement models estimates with polytomous indicators under conditions of systematically increasing, partial measurement invariance. We also present an evaluation of the testing procedure, which has not been the focus of previous simulation studies. Results indicate that the alignment adequately recovers parameter estimates under small and moderate amounts of noninvariance, with issues only arising in extreme conditions. In addition, the statistical tests of invariance were fairly conservative, and had less power for items with more extreme skew. We include recommendations for using the alignment method based on these results.  相似文献   

3.
The study of measurement invariance in latent profile analysis (LPA) indicates whether the latent profiles differ across known subgroups (e.g., gender). The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of noninvariance on the relative bias of LPA parameter estimates and on the ability of the likelihood ratio test (LRT) and information criteria statistics to reject the hypothesis of invariance. A Monte Carlo simulation study was conducted in which noninvariance was defined as known group differences in the indicator means in each profile. Results indicated that parameter estimates were biased in conditions with medium and large noninvariance. The LRT and AIC detected noninvariance in most conditions with small sample sizes, while the BIC and adjusted BIC needed larger sample sizes to detect noninvariance. Implications of the results are discussed along with recommendations for future research.  相似文献   

4.
This simulation study examines the efficacy of multilevel factor mixture modeling (ML FMM) for measurement invariance testing across unobserved groups when the groups are at the between level of multilevel data. To this end, latent classes are generated with class-specific item parameters (i.e., factor loading and intercept) across the between-level classes. The efficacy of ML FMM is evaluated in terms of class enumeration, class assignment, and the detection of noninvariance. Various classification criteria such as Akaike’s information criterion, Bayesian information criterion, and bootstrap likelihood ratio tests are examined for the correct enumeration of between-level latent classes. For the detection of measurement noninvariance, free and constrained baseline approaches are compared with respect to true positive and false positive rates. This study evidences the adequacy of ML FMM. However, its performance heavily depends on the simulation factors such as the classification criteria, sample size, and the magnitude of noninvariance. Practical guidelines for applied researchers are provided.  相似文献   

5.
Latent means methods such as multiple-indicator multiple-cause (MIMIC) and structured means modeling (SMM) allow researchers to determine whether or not a significant difference exists between groups' factor means. Strong invariance is typically recommended when interpreting latent mean differences. The extent of the impact of noninvariant intercepts on conclusions made when implementing both MIMIC and SMM methods was the main purpose of this study. The impact of intercept noninvariance on Type I error rates, power, and two model fit indices when using MIMIC and SMM approaches under various conditions were examined. Type I error and power were adversely affected by intercept noninvariance. Although the fit indices did not detect small misspecifications in the form of noninvariant intercepts, one did perform more optimally.  相似文献   

6.
Subscore added value analyses assume invariance across test taking populations; however, this assumption may be untenable in practice as differential subdomain relationships may be present among subgroups. The purpose of this simulation study was to understand the conditions associated with subscore added value noninvariance when manipulating: (a) subdomain test length, (b) differences in subgroup mean ability, and (c) subgroup differences in intersubdomain correlations. Results demonstrated that subscore added value was noninvariant for 24–100% of replications (depending on subdomain test length) when the subgroup difference in intersubdomain correlation was equal to .30. To examine if this condition was met in practice, applied invariance analyses of three operational testing programs were conducted. Across these datasets, noninvariant subscore added value was present for some subdomains across sex and ethnic subgroups. Overall, these results indicate that subscore added value noninvariance is largely driven by differential intersubdomain correlations among subgroups, which may be present in some operational testing programs.  相似文献   

7.
Studies investigating invariance have often been limited to measurement or prediction invariance. Selection invariance, wherein the use of test scores for classification results in equivalent classification accuracy between groups, has received comparatively little attention in the psychometric literature. Previous research suggests that some form of selection bias (lack of selection invariance) will exist in most testing contexts, where classification decisions are made, even when meeting the conditions of measurement invariance. We define this conflict between measurement and selection invariance as the invariance paradox. Previous research has found test reliability to be an important factor in minimizing selection bias. This study demonstrates that the location of maximum test information may be a more important factor than overall test reliability in minimizing decision errors between groups.  相似文献   

8.
With the increasing use of international survey data especially in cross-cultural and multinational studies, establishing measurement invariance (MI) across a large number of groups in a study is essential. Testing MI over many groups is methodologically challenging, however. We identified 5 methods for MI testing across many groups (multiple group confirmatory factor analysis, multilevel confirmatory factor analysis, multilevel factor mixture modeling, Bayesian approximate MI testing, and alignment optimization) and explicated the similarities and differences of these approaches in terms of their conceptual models and statistical procedures. A Monte Carlo study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of the 5 methods in detecting measurement noninvariance across many groups using various fit criteria. Generally, the 5 methods showed reasonable performance in identifying the level of invariance if an appropriate fit criterion was used (e.g., Bayesian information criteron with multilevel factor mixture modeling). Finally, general guidelines in selecting an appropriate method are provided.  相似文献   

9.
In latent growth modeling, measurement invariance across groups has received little attention. Considering that a group difference is commonly of interest in social science, a Monte Carlo study explored the performance of multigroup second-order latent growth modeling (MSLGM) in testing measurement invariance. True positive and false positive rates in detecting noninvariance across groups in addition to bias estimates of major MSLGM parameters were investigated. Simulation results support the suitability of MSLGM for measurement invariance testing when either forward or iterative likelihood ratio procedure is applied.  相似文献   

10.
School climate surveys are central to school improvement and principal evaluation policies. The quality of school climate has been linked both to student achievement and to teacher retention. Oftentimes, policymakers and practitioners are concerned with monitoring change in school climate quality in each academic year. Such applications assume longitudinal factorial invariance—it is presupposed that the surveys are measuring the same things in the same metric at each time point. While there is considerable research examining the validity of inferences based on survey‐derived climate indicators, this research is almost exclusively based on cross‐sectional data. There is little literature describing procedures for gathering evidence of factorial invariance of school climate indicators. This study proposes to adapt existing methods for evaluating factorial invariance in longitudinal designs into multilevel frameworks, and in doing so, articulates a novel method for evaluating longitudinal measurement invariance in school climate research. This technique is illustrated on a widely used school climate survey.  相似文献   

11.
Confirmatory factor analytic tests of measurement invariance (MI) require a referent indicator (RI) for model identification. Although the assumption that the RI is perfectly invariant across groups is acknowledged as problematic, the literature provides relatively little guidance for researchers to identify the conditions under which the practice is appropriate. Using simulated data, this study examined the effects of RI selection on both scale- and item-level MI tests. Results indicated that while inappropriate RI selection has little effect on the accuracy of conclusions drawn from scale-level tests of metric invariance, poor RI choice can produce very misleading results for item-level tests. As a result, group comparisons under conditions of partial invariance are highly susceptible to problems associated with poor RI choice.  相似文献   

12.
This Monte Carlo study investigated the impacts of measurement noninvariance across groups on major parameter estimates in latent growth modeling when researchers test group differences in initial status and latent growth. The average initial status and latent growth and the group effects on initial status and latent growth were investigated in terms of Type I error and bias. The location and magnitude of noninvariance across groups was related to the location and magnitude of bias and Type I error in the parameter estimates. That is, noninvariance in factor loadings and intercepts was associated with the Type I error inflation and bias in the parameter estimates of the slope factor (or latent growth) and the intercept factor (or initial status), respectively. As noninvariance became large, the degree of Type I error and bias also increased. On the other hand, a correctly specified second-order latent growth model yielded unbiased parameter estimates and correct statistical inferences. Other findings and implications on future studies were discussed.  相似文献   

13.
We examine the power associated with the test of factor mean differences when the assumption of factorial invariance is violated. Utilizing the Wald test for obtaining power, issues of model size, sample size, and total versus partial noninvariance are considered along with variation of actual factor mean differences. Results of a population study show that power is profoundly affected by true factor mean differences but is relatively unaffected by the degree of factor loading noninvariance. Inequality of sample size has a profound effect on power probabilities with power decreasing as sample sizes become increasingly disparate. Sample size variations operate such that power is uniformly lower when the group with the smaller generalized variance is associated with the smaller sample size. An increase in the number of variables yields uniformly larger power probabilities. No substantial differences are found between total and partial noninvariance. Results are related to work in the area of robustness of Hotelling's T 2 statistic and discussed in terms of asymptotic covariability of factor means and factor loadings. Implications for practice are considered.  相似文献   

14.
We present a multigroup multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) model and a procedure for testing multilevel factorial invariance in n-level structural equation modeling (nSEM). Multigroup multilevel CFA introduces a complexity when the group membership at the lower level intersects the clustered structure, because the observations in different groups but in the same cluster are not independent of one another. nSEM provides a framework in which the multigroup multilevel data structure is represented with the dependency between groups at the lower level properly taken into account. The procedure for testing multilevel factorial invariance is illustrated with an empirical example using an R package xxm2.  相似文献   

15.
The use of evidence to guide policy and practice in education (Cooper, Levin, & Campbell, 2009) has included an increased emphasis on constructed-response items, such as essays and portfolios. Because assessments that go beyond selected-response items and incorporate constructed-response items are rater-mediated (Engelhard, 2002, Engelhard, 2013), it is necessary to develop evidence-based indices of quality for the rating processes used to evaluate student performances. This study proposes a set of criteria for evaluating the quality of ratings based on the concepts of measurement invariance and accuracy within the context of a large-scale writing assessment. Two measurement models are used to explore indices of quality for raters and ratings: the first model provides evidence for the invariance of ratings, and the second model provides evidence for rater accuracy. Rating quality is examined within four writing domains from an analytic rubric. Further, this study explores the alignment between indices of rating quality based on these invariance and accuracy models within each of the four domains of writing. Major findings suggest that rating quality varies across analytic rubric domains, and that there is some correspondence between indices of rating quality based on the invariance and accuracy models. Implications for research and practice are discussed.  相似文献   

16.
A goal for any linking or equating of two or more tests is that the linking function be invariant to the population used in conducting the linking or equating. Violations of population invariance in linking and equating jeopardize the fairness and validity of test scores, and pose particular problems for test‐based accountability programs that require schools, districts, and states to report annual progress on academic indicators disaggregated by demographic group membership. This instructional module provides a comprehensive overview of population invariance in linking and equating and the relevant methodology developed for evaluating violations of invariance. A numeric example is used to illustrate the comparative properties of available methods, and important considerations for evaluating population invariance in linking and equating are presented.  相似文献   

17.
To date, no effective empirical method has been available to identify a truly invariant reference variable (RV) in testing measurement invariance under a multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis. This study proposes a method that, in selecting an RV, uses the smallest modification index (min-mod). The method’s performance is evaluated using 2 models: (a) a full invariance model, and (b) a partial invariance model. Results indicate that for both models the min-mod successfully identifies a truly invariant RV (Study 1). In Study 2, we use the RV found in Study 1 to further evaluate the performance of item-by-item Wald tests at locating a noninvariant variable. The results indicate that Wald tests overall performed better with an RV selected in a partial invariance model than an RV selected in a full invariance model, although in certain conditions their performances were rather similar. Implications and limitations of the study are also discussed.  相似文献   

18.
Multigroup exploratory factor analysis (EFA) has gained popularity to address measurement invariance for two reasons. Firstly, repeatedly respecifying confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models strongly capitalizes on chance and using EFA as a precursor works better. Secondly, the fixed zero loadings of CFA are often too restrictive. In multigroup EFA, factor loading invariance is rejected if the fit decreases significantly when fixing the loadings to be equal across groups. To locate the precise factor loading non-invariances by means of hypothesis testing, the factors’ rotational freedom needs to be resolved per group. In the literature, a solution exists for identifying optimal rotations for one group or invariant loadings across groups. Building on this, we present multigroup factor rotation (MGFR) for identifying loading non-invariances. Specifically, MGFR rotates group-specific loadings both to simple structure and between-group agreement, while disentangling loading differences from differences in the structural model (i.e., factor (co)variances).  相似文献   

19.
Conventional approaches for selecting a reference indicator (RI) could lead to misleading results in testing for measurement invariance (MI). Several newer quantitative methods have been available for more rigorous RI selection. However, it is still unknown how well these methods perform in terms of correctly identifying a truly invariant item to be an RI. Thus, Study 1 was designed to address this issue in various conditions using simulated data. As a follow-up, Study 2 further investigated the advantages/disadvantages of using RI-based approaches for MI testing in comparison with non-RI-based approaches. Altogether, the two studies provided a solid examination on how RI matters in MI tests. In addition, a large sample of real-world data was used to empirically compare the uses of the RI selection methods as well as the RI-based and non-RI-based approaches for MI testing. In the end, we offered a discussion on all these methods, followed by suggestions and recommendations for applied researchers.  相似文献   

20.
Science motivation is an important factor that directly influences students’ science learning. Numerous studies have been undertaken to develop and validate questionnaire items for measuring students’ motivation in science learning. This study is the first longitudinal examination of the Chinese version of Science Motivation Questionnaire II (SMQ II-C) in a Chinese cultural context. Using two waves of surveys, we evaluated its internal structure validity and criterion-related validity. Results showed that at each time point, scores were internally consistent and the hypothesized five-factor model was confirmed as the best model fit for the data. Results of multigroup invariance revealed the structure of the SMQ II-C was equivalent within gender subgroups. Furthermore, the present study added longitudinal invariance evidence of the SMQ II-C by sampling two-time points. Overall, this study suggests the SMQ II-C is a robust instrument for evaluating Chinese high school students’ motivation to learn science. Furthermore, boys yielded higher scores than girls among all five subscales of science motivation and significant gender differences were observed in both waves. Implications and limitations of these results are discussed.  相似文献   

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