Exploratory structural equation (ESEM) has received increased attention in the methodological literature as a promising tool for evaluating latent variable measurement models. It overcomes many of the limitations attached to exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), while capitalizing on the benefits of each. Given…

This paper is concerned with the process of selecting between the increasingly popular bi-factor model and the second-order factor model in measurement research. It is indicated that in certain settings widely used in empirical studies, the second-order model is nested in the bi-factor model and obtained from the latter after imposing appropriate…

Conceptualizing two-variable disturbances preventing good model fit in confirmatory factor analysis as item-level method effects instead of correlated residuals avoids violating the principle that residual variation is unique for each item. The possibility of representing such a disturbance by a method factor of a bifactor measurement model was…

Percentage of uncontaminated correlations (PUC), explained common variance (ECV), and omega hierarchical ([omega]H) have been used to assess the degree to which a scale is essentially unidimensional and to predict structural coefficient bias when a unidimensional measurement model is fit to multidimensional data. The usefulness of these indices…

This note demonstrates that the widely used Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) need not be generally viewed as a routinely dependable index for model selection when the bifactor and second-order factor models are examined as rival means for data description and explanation. To this end, we use an empirically relevant setting with…

The population relationship between coefficient alpha and scale reliability is studied in the widely used setting of unidimensional multicomponent measuring instruments. It is demonstrated that for any set of component loadings on the common factor, regardless of the extent of their inequality, the discrepancy between alpha and reliability can be…

Coefficient omega indices are model-based composite reliability estimates that have become increasingly popular. A coefficient omega index estimates how reliably an observed composite score measures a target construct as represented by a factor in a factor-analysis model; as such, the accuracy of omega estimates is likely to depend on correct…

Current environmental risks, such as climate change and nature loss, force us to look for solutions in every sector of society. A successful sustainability transition requires the manipulation of deep systemic leverage points. Hence, a deep leverage point framework based on sustainability competencies is needed to conceptualise sustainability…

A class of effect size indices are discussed that evaluate the degree to which two nested confirmatory factor analysis models differ from each other in terms of fit to a set of observed variables. These descriptive effect measures can be used to quantify the impact of parameter restrictions imposed in an initially considered model and are free…

Students who are self-regulated leaners have been reported to perform more successfully in higher education institutions (HEIs). Therefore, instruments that can monitor students' motivation and learning have been devised and implemented. The aims of this work were to investigate the dimensionality of the motivated strategies for learning…

The aim of this study was to investigate the comparability of feedback across culturally diverse countries by assessing the measurement invariance in PISA 2015 data. A multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed that the feedback scale implemented in PISA 2015 was not invariant across countries. The intercepts and residuals of the factor model…

When researchers fit statistical models to multiply imputed datasets, they have to fit the model separately for each imputed dataset. Since there are multiple datasets, there are always multiple sets of model results. It is possible for some of these sets of results not to converge while some do converge. This study examined occurrence of such a…

The standardized generalized dimensionality discrepancy measure and the standardized model-based covariance are introduced as tools to critique dimensionality assumptions in multidimensional item response models. These tools are grounded in a covariance theory perspective and associated connections between dimensionality and local independence.…

Based upon self-concept and self-determination theory, the present study aimed to examine the measurement separability of young children's math self-concept (MSC) and six specific types of motivation, namely, intrinsic motivation (INTR), integrated motivation (INTEG), identified motivation (IDENT), introjected motivation, extrinsic motivation…

School climate is an important construct for guiding violence prevention efforts in U.S. schools, but there has been less consideration of this concept in its neighboring country Mexico, which has a higher prevalence of violence. The U.S. Department of Education outlined a three-domain conceptualization of school climate (i.e., safe and supportive…