Reports the results of the first joint confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities-3rd Edition (WJ III). Results of these analyses do not support the construct validity of the CAS as a measure of the PASS (planning, attention, simultaneous, and sequential)…

Developed Markov Chain Monte Carlo procedures to perform Bayesian inference, model checking, and model comparison in heterogeneous factor analysis. Tested the approach with synthetic data and data from a consumption emotion study involving 54 consumers. Results show that traditional psychometric methods cannot fully capture the heterogeneity in…

Confirmatory factor analysis of the Adult Attitudes toward Adult and Continuing Education Scale yielded three factors (enjoyment of learning, perceived importance, and intrinsic value) and identified extraneous items, leading to revision of the scale. Structural equation modeling confirmed the soundness of the revised scale and significant…

Discussion of information retrieval from online databases focuses on sorting techniques to help the user analyze the increasing number of references that may result from a search. Link analysis and Datalink software are described, and examples using keyword factorial analysis and research pole analysis are presented. (16 references) (LRW)

Administered seven instruments measuring college students' (N=253) perceptions and expectations of counseling. Used factor analysis to identify six interpretable factors, three for perceptions and three for expectations with no overlap between perceptions and expectations. Recommends further research into effects of gender, age, race, culture,…

Tested the factor structure of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities in preschool children (N=141). Found existence of Verbal factor and other Perceptual-Performance factor was confirmed and the Quantitative and Memory factors appear undifferentiated. Found subtests which make up the Motor scale do not constitute a single factor. (Author/ABL)

Three multitrait-multimethod studies are described, which indicated that ill-defined solutions were frequent, and alternative parameterizations tended only to mask this problem. Moreover, method factors sometimes represented trait variance as opposed to method variance. However, specification of method effects as correlated uniqueness proved more…

Literature on foreign language anxiety shows a considerable amount of ambiguity arising from conflicting results of past studies. An attempt is made to show that these difficulties can be resolved given an awareness of the theoretical perspective from which this research has developed. (Author/VWL)

A model is proposed for empirically testing the appropriateness of using tetrachoric correlations for a set of dichotomous variables. A testing method is proposed that uses information from trivariate marginal tables. Assumptions are tested with real and simulated data. (SLD)

Data from 255 normal individuals were factor analyzed. Variables included subtests from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R), the Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test (KAIT), and two new brief measures. Results are interpreted in the context of previous Horn analyses of the KAIT and WAIS-R. (SLD)

This article considers the impact of missing data arising from balanced incomplete block (BIB) spiraled designs on the chi-square goodness-of-fit test in factor analysis. The new approach is shown to outperform the pairwise available case method for continuous variables and to be comparatively better for dichotomous variables. (SLD)

Relative prevalence of stereotyped behaviors was studied with 246 children and adults with developmental disabilities. Two staff members completed a 54-item checklist assessing stereotyped behaviors, abnormal focused affections, compulsions, rigidity, savant skills, and defensiveness. Factor analyses produced weak evidence for a general stereotypy…

Reacts to previous arguments regarding verbal and performance constructs of Wechsler Scales. Contends that general factor model is more plausible representation of data for these scales. Suggests issue is moot when considered in regards to practical applications. Supports analysis of needed skills and instructional environments in educational…

In the research of environmental impact assessment (EIA), the problem of weight distribution for a set of parameters has not yet been properly solved. Presents an approach of objective weighting by using a procedure of Pij principal component-factor analysis (Pij PCFA), which suits specifically those parameters measured directly by physical…

A Monte Carlo experiment was conducted to investigate the performance of bootstrap methods in normal theory maximum likelihood factor analysis when the distributional assumption was satisfied or unsatisfied. Problems arising with the use of bootstrap methods are highlighted. (SLD)