Efforts to study the fidelity of translation of attitudinal scales into foreign languages have faltered due to the lack of powerful statistical tests to assess such transformations. This study uses a maximum likelihood factor analysis procedure to compare multivariate factor structures across subpopulations. The results showed that inconsistent…

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) measures variations in normal personality. The validity of the measure has only recently been examined by analyses of the structure underlying MBTI responses; and these investigations have used exploratory factor analyses, rather than confirmatory factor analytic methods. A confirmatory factor analysis was…

The use of confirmatory factor analytic procedures to examine the dimensionality of writing skills as measured by a large-scale direct writing test was illustrated. Internal construct validity evidence about the nature of writing skills measured by the test was provided. Data used were scores assigned by about 100 trained professional raters on a…

A new typology for faculty is proposed, based on their expressed priorities toward activities in which research universities engage. Responses of 617 faculty to a survey of 66 statements about university activities were factor analyzed, and scores on eight factors obtained were used in a cluster analysis that produced three clusters of faculty.…

Whether principals could identify teaching traits and categorize these consistently as descriptors of instructional stages was studied by asking 145 randomly selected principals in public schools throughout Illinois and Indiana to characterize teacher behavior based on experience. Principals were asked to list instructional stages, yielding 161…

Methodological and conceptual issues arising from a study of student perceptions of secondary school class climate are discussed. Through a pilot study, 113 Likert-type items were collected, consisting of teacher-focused dimensions, classroom-focused dimensions, and instructional practices. Factor and cluster analyses were used at the item level.…

While many studies have compared race, sex, or social class differences in self-evaluation, the three have not been investigated simultaneously. To test the interaction of race, gender, and social class differences in self-evaluation and integrate it with the literature on sex role socialization, 57 black (29 females and 28 males) and 120 white…

Procedures devised for computing factor matching statistics in questionnaire construction are described. In a study of the impact of vocational education on social, affective and nontechnical development of students, an attitude questionnaire to measure outcomes was developed. Each item in the final section had a six-point Likert type response…

This paper reports the development and testing of measures of teachers' attitudes toward testing and appropriate use of tests. A random sample of 555 practicing teachers in Wyoming were surveyed by mail (81 percent response rate). Five subscales assessing attitudes toward use of classroom and standardized tests were identified: (1) standardized…

The test reliability of two tests of family functioning--the Family Environment Scale (FES) and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES-II)--was studied in 111 Anglo American, Black American, and Mexican American Families. The sample included children in grades three to six, as well as adults. The FES was administered to the…

The accelerating diffusion of broadband Internet access provides many opportunities for the development of pedagogically robust Web-based instruction (WBI). While the supporting technology infrastructure of broadband disseminates, the attention of academic researchers focuses upon issues such as the drivers of student usage of WBI. Specifically,…

Using factor analysis (both principal factor solutions and rotated factor solutions) to search for underlying statistical commonality among 12 indicators of community satisfaction in 6 Colorado communities, the research explores various dimensions of community satisfaction that may be important across different communities. The communities under…

Research has recognized that anxiety may exert a debilitating effect on students' academic performance; however, many studies of test anxiety have been limited by their failure to consider sex differences. Two studies were conducted to analyze sex differences of the Test Anxiety Scale (TAS) and achievement correlates and to validate a factor…

Confirmatory factor analysis is presented as providing appropriate techniques for the analysis and evaluation of questionnaires and tests if the content of the measure can be identified as consisting of groups of items, with each group measuring only a single trait. This approach is contrasted with latent trait theory which assumes (and does not…

After an examination of the "macro" research approach, which deals with a population of adults, and the "micro" approach, which begins with a population of adult students, the micro approach was selected to provide reliable statistical data regarding certain characteristics of University Extension, University of California,…