Two important parameters of the general utility function--the standard deviation of job performance and predictor performance--were examined in terms of their sensitivity to departures from underlying mathematical assumptions. Integral calculus was used to assess the effects of statistical violations of the assumptions underlying these parameters.…

Coefficient alpha was examined through computer simulation as an estimate of test reliability under violation of two assumptions. Coefficient alpha underestimated reliability under violation of the assumption of essential tau-equivalence of subtest scores and overestimated it under violation of the assumption of uncorrelated subtest error scores.…

The School Motivation and Learning Strategies Inventory (SMALSI) is a diagnostic tool that helps educators identify and measure strategies that are actively used by students for learning. It is a self-report inventory for use with students 8 through 12 years of age (SMALSI-Child Form) and also with older students aged 13 to 18 years (SMALSI-Teen…

It is possible that human capital produces positive externalities to the society indirectly, through non-market channels such as health or crime. Another such channel could be the effect of education on the functioning of democratic decision-making. Measures of the functioning of democracy are bound to be controversial, but one such measure--voter…

A Monte Carlo study was conducted using the Statistical Analysis System IML computer program to compare the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) simultaneous test procedures of Roy's Greatest Root, the Pillai-Bartlett trace, the Hotelling-Lawley trace, and Wilks' lambda, in terms of power and Type I error under various conditions, including…

Nonparametric and robust statistics (those using trimmed means and Winsorized variances) were compared for their ability to detect treatment effects in the two-sample case. The use of two specialized tests, designed to be sensitive to treatment effects when data distributions are skewed to the right, is not supported by the analyses. (SLD)

The impact of varying levels of item omissions on Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) two-point code types was studied with MMPI-2 results from 100 psychological outpatients. Results suggest that defined code types are relatively robust for up to 30 omitted items. (SLD)

Examined the influence of deviant scale items on item parameter estimates of focal scale items and person parameter estimates through a comparison of item response theory (IRT) and classical test theory (CTT) models. Used Monte Carlo methods to explore results from a pilot investigation of job attitude data. Discusses implications for researchers…

In multivariate analysis of variance studies with small numbers of subjects (15 or less) per treatment level, probability values reported by the commercial statistical packages SAS and SPSS are conservative for F approximations based on Pillai's trace and liberal for F approximations based on the Hotelling-Lawley trace. Discusses results in terms…

Five methods for testing the hypothesis of independence between two sets of variates were compared through simulation. Results indicate that two new methods, based on robust measures reflecting the linear association between two random variables, provide reasonably accurate control over Type I errors. Drawbacks to rank-based methods are discussed.…

The sensitivity analysis of structural equation models when minor perturbation is introduced is investigated. An influence measure based on the general case weight perturbation is derived for the generalized least squares estimation, and an influence measure is developed for the special case deletion perturbation scheme. (Author/SLD)

Conducted a meta-analysis focusing on the explanation of empirical Type I error rates for six principal classes of estimators. Generally, chi-square tests for overall model fit were found to be sensitive to nonnormality and the size of the model for all estimators, with the possible exception of elliptical estimators with respect to model size and…

The likelihood ratio test statistic G[squared](dif) is widely used for comparing the fit of nested models in categorical data analysis. In large samples, this statistic is distributed as a chi-square with degrees of freedom equal to the difference in degrees of freedom between the tested models, but only if the least restrictive model is correctly…

Four item response theory linking methods (2 moment methods and 2 characteristic curve methods) were compared to concurrent (CO) calibration with the focus on the degree of robustness to format effects (FEs) when applying the methods to multidimensional data that reflected the FEs associated with mixed-format tests. Based on the quantification of…

The author has been invited to reply to this response to her article of December 2006 in this journal. This response can only be a summary of some of her findings and a reiteration, in very truncated form, of her arguments. She would refer any interested reader back to her original extended review of the PIRLS project as it was there that she lays…