To empirically investigate language learning in relational and cultural settings, the authors developed and administered the Ecological Language Learning and Academic Success scale to an ethnically diverse sample of 269 urban high school students who speak a language other than English at home. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor…

This study explored the validity of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale in a sample of 853 practicing teachers from Australia, Canada, China (Hong Kong), Indonesia, and Oman. The authors used multigroup confirmatory factor analysis to test the factor structure and measurement invariance across settings, after which they examined the relationships…

The purpose of this study was to develop and gather initial psychometric information on the Self-Regulated Learning Inventory for Teachers (SRLIT). The SRLIT is a self-report scale with 23 items measuring primary school teachers' realisations of self-regulated learning (SRL) practices. Information regarding the instrument's factor structure,…

Abrami and d'Apollonia dispute previous findings of the multidimensionality of students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness, but their analysis has several weaknesses, particularly in the failure to distinguish between exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Support for the multidimensional perspective remains strong. (SLD)

Paper develops a model which expresses pair comparisons as a function of (a) affective values which form a perfect simplex, (b) systematic (constant over replications) deviations from the simplex-structured affective values, and (c) errors of measurement for the pair comparisons. (Author)

This report describes a test of the robustness of factor-analytic methods in the face of various types of scale transformations on the data. Because of the complexities that would be involved in an exact analytical investigation, the tests were done with simulated sets of data having different factor structures. After factor analyzing the original…

This study was designed to explain how Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS) could be viewed as a structural equations model (SEM). The study replicated the major profiles extracted from PAMS in the context of the latent variables in SEM. Data involved the Basic Theme Scales of the Strong Campbell Interest Inventory (Campbell and…

Examines the factor structure of the Miville-Guzman Universality-Diversity Scale (M-GUDS) and presents a short form of the scale (M-GUDS-S). Findings suggest that the M-GUDS-S measures Universal-Diverse Orientation as a multidimensional construct with three distinct domains: behavioral, emotional, and cognitive. (Contains 21 references and 3…

Although some research has examined the factorial nature of the Multidimensional Aptitude Battery (MAB), none has tested hypotheses relevant to both oblique and orthogonal models via confirmatory factor analysis. Thus, in this investigation, a series of models was tested, which compared the model fit of both oblique/higher order models against a…

The Guttman model of scale analysis has found continued use in sociological analysis despite criticisms placed against it. An empirical example is provided of the use of factor analysis with Guttman scaling even taking into account the criticisms of both very restricted item number of dichotomous responses. Data came from a questionnaire using…

This paper presents a method which can be used to obtain evidence that the concepts rated on semantic differential scales are appropriate for given study. An analysis of six semantic differential concepts, as perceived by 168 graduate education students, is presented; variations of the method are discussed. (Author/GSK)

The paper is a critique of the traditional mode of interpreting factor analyses; it is not a criticism of factor analysis per se. Instead, the author proposes a statistical procedure based upon stepwise regression (SRP). The traditional mode focuses on the largest factor loadings (FL). A factor is both described and named by these heavily weighted…

A questionnaire was constructed for the purpose of investigating various aspects of the career choices made by graduate students. The research was to determine the underlying structure of the questionnaire and to compare the capability of nonmetric multidimensional scaling (MDS) and linear factor analysis (FA) to reveal dimensions measured by the…

Empathy, a basis for altruistic motivation, is viewed as a developmental process by Hoffman and others. Current measures of empathy, such as the Davis Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), have been analyzed by exploratory factor analytic methods which do not allow for the testing of a developmental model of the simplex form. This study was…

The factor structure of the Adult Norwicki-Strickland I-E Scale, sampling 174 college students, indicated differential factor dimensionality for males and females. The findings also support the contention that I-E is multidimensional in nature; however, these dimensions reflecting factorial validity have not been found to be consistently reliable…