Measurement invariance (MI) is an essential part of validity evidence concerned with ensuring that tests function similarly across groups, contexts, and time. Most evaluations of MI involve multigroup confirmatory factor analyses (MGCFA) that assume simple structure. However, recent research has shown that constraining non-target indicators to…

When comparing relations and means of latent variables, it is important to establish measurement invariance (MI). Most methods to assess MI are based on confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Recently, new methods have been developed based on exploratory factor analysis (EFA); most notably, as extensions of multi-group EFA, researchers introduced…

The replication crisis in social and behavioral sciences has raised concerns about the reliability and validity of empirical studies. While research in the literature has explored contributing factors to this crisis, the issues related to analytical tools have received less attention. This study focuses on a widely used analytical tool -…

Measurement invariance (MI) is required for validly comparing latent constructs measured by multiple ordinal self-report items. Non-invariances may occur when disregarding (group differences in) an acquiescence response style (ARS; an agreeing tendency regardless of item content). If non-invariance results solely from neglecting ARS, one should…

Researchers often study dynamic processes of latent variables in everyday life, such as the interplay of positive and negative affect over time. An intuitive approach is to first estimate the measurement model of the latent variables, then compute factor scores, and finally use these factor scores as observed scores in vector autoregressive…

In exploratory or unrestricted factor analysis, all factor loadings are free to be estimated. In oblique solutions, the correlations between common factors are free to be estimated as well. The purpose of this article is to show how likelihood-based confidence intervals can be obtained for rotated factor loadings and factor correlations, by…

In 1959, Campbell and Fiske introduced the use of multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) matrices in psychology, and for the past 4 decades confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) has commonly been used to analyze MTMM data. However, researchers do not always fit CFA models when MTMM data are available; when CFA modeling is used, multiple models are available…

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…

This article proposes procedures for simultaneously assessing and controlling acquiescence and social desirability in questionnaire items. The procedures are based on a semi-restricted factor-analytic tridimensional model, and can be used with binary, graded-response, or more continuous items. We discuss procedures for fitting the model (item…

This study is a methodological-substantive synergy, demonstrating the power and flexibility of exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) methods that integrate confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses (CFA and EFA), as applied to substantively important questions based on multidimentional students' evaluations of university teaching…

Investigators of personality assessment are becoming aware that using positively and negatively worded items in questionnaires to prevent acquiescence may negatively impact construct validity. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) has demonstrated a bifactorial structure typically proposed to result from these method effects. Recent work suggests…

This study examined the extent of measurement invariance of the Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale responses (BPNES; Vlachopoulos & Michailidou, 2006) across male (n = 716) and female (n = 1,147) exercise participants. BPNES responses from exercise participants attending private fitness centers (n = 1,012) and community exercise programs…

This article proposes procedures for assessing acquiescence in a balanced set of binary personality items. These procedures are based on the bidimensional item-factor analysis model, which is an alternative parameterization of the bidimensional 2-parameter normal-ogive item response theory model. First the rationale and general approach are…

This study examines the construct validity of the Mathematical Patterns Test using data from 848 Cypriot primary school students. Descriptive analyses across 5 age groups suggested a developmental structure of individual tasks and subdomains consistent with the design of the test. Acceptable fit was obtained using confirmatory factor analysis…

Across a variety of disciplines and areas of inquiry, reliable and valid measures are a cornerstone of quality research. This is the case because to have confidence in the findings of our studies, we must first have confidence in the quality of our measures. This article briefly reviews the literature on scale development and provides an empirical…