This study investigated the application of multidimensional item response theory (IRT) models to validate test structure and dimensionality. Multiple content areas or domains within a single subject often exist in large-scale achievement tests. Such areas or domains may cause multidimensionality or local item dependence, which both violate the…

Despite the limitations of overgeneralizing cutoff values for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; e.g., Marsh, Hau, & Wen, 2004), they are still often employed as golden rules for assessing factorial validity in sport and exercise psychology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the appropriateness of using the CFA approach with these…

The purpose of this study was to identify and validate items applicable to evaluating online courses at the postsecondary level. Items were derived from a review of the literature. Four judges rated the similarity of the items by making pair-wise comparisons utilizing multidimensional scaling (MDS). The study consisted of five stages. Stage I…

Applied multidimensional scaling to similarity data to produce a model of Attachment Q-Set (AQS) items as points in a 3-dimensional space. Represented criterion sorts, individual Q-sorts, and empirical correlates as vectors, interpreting each according to the vector's contributions from the three global dimensions. Tested the model's validity and…

Holland's [Holland, J. L. (1959). A theory of occupational choice. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 6, 35-45; Holland, J. L. (1997). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments (3rd ed.). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.] RIASEC types were initially developed using a restricted range…

Presents a multidimensional conception of fear of death and provides subscales for measuring suggested dimensions (fear of the dying process, of the dead, of being destroyed, for significant others, of the unknown, of conscious death, for body after death, and of premature death). Evidence for construct validity is provided. (Author/BEF)

The Self Description Questionnaire II (SDQ II) was administered to 901 students (11 to 18 years old) in grades 7 through 12 who attended one public coeducational high school. The 11 factors the SDQ II was designed to measure were clearly identified in a conventional/exploratory factor analysis and in a confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL.…

The purpose of the study was to use confirmatory factor analysis techniques to assess the adequacy of previous validity studies related to the structural and theoretical dimensions underlying a measure of self-concept, the Piers Harris Children's Self Concept Scale. Responses from 890 students in grades 3-6 were used as input to the LISREL program…