Leisure activities are widely used in research to predict important outcomes, but the existing studies use different classification schemes and apparently rely on the intuition of the researcher to classify activities. The goal of the current study was to use the Holland RIASEC personality system to empirically classify activities using a sample…

Social support from intimate and confiding relationships has received a great deal of attention; however, the study of the community as a relevant source of support has been comparatively lacking. In this article, we present a multidimensional measure of community support (Perceived Community Support Questionnaire, PCSQ). Through exploratory and…

Computer Adaptive Sequential Testing (CAST) is a test delivery model that combines features of the traditional conventional paper-and-pencil testing and item-based computerized adaptive testing (CAT). The basic structure of CAST is a panel composed of multiple testlets adaptively administered to examinees at different stages. Current applications…

The structure of occupational values is investigated using several analytical techniques. Data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Information Network (O*NET) describing need reinforcers for 900 occupations are examined using exploratory factor analysis, cluster analysis, and multidimensional scaling. Results indicated broadly defined…

Traditional conceptions of talent generally emphasise the construction of threshold values and the development of relatively unitary abilities, and this approach still dominates talent development programmes for elite sport. Most researchers on high ability, however, now favour domain-specific, multidimensional conceptions of ability that stress…

This study presents the random-effects rating scale model (RE-RSM) which takes into account randomness in the thresholds over persons by treating them as random-effects and adding a random variable for each threshold in the rating scale model (RSM) (Andrich, 1978). The RE-RSM turns out to be a special case of the multidimensional random…

Multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis were used to describe and categorize tasks from six graduate disciplines including academic psychology, applied psychology, English literature, journalism, physics, and electrical engineering. A sample of task descriptions was constructed through interviews with four or five graduate students from each…

The concept of a user-specified validity sector is discussed. The idea of the validity sector combines the work of M. D. Reckase (1986) and R. Shealy and W. Stout (1991). Reckase developed a methodology to represent an item in a multidimensional latent space as a vector. Item vectors are computed using multidimensional item response theory item…

Relations among students' cognitive structures, instruction, and course achievement were studied for 102 undergraduates in three courses. An aim of the study was to integrate expert-novice research with investigations of cognitive-structure change. Experienced instructors identified concepts central to the different courses. Students were asked to…

Factor analyses of student evaluations of teaching effectiveness were conducted for 24,158 courses at the University of Southern California and for each of 21 different subgroups derived from the total group. All classes evaluated by six or more students were included in the study. The subgroups were designed to differ in terms of instructor level…

In item response theory (IRT), preequating depends upon item parameter estimate invariance. Three separate simulations, all using the unidimensional three-parameter logistic item response model, were conducted to study the impact of the following variables on preequating: (1) mean differences in ability; (2) multidimensionality in the data; and…

Order Analysis is a multidimensional scaling (MDS) technique for determining order among items. This paper reviews articles by different authors describing various components of ordering theory. A common nomenclature is constructed to link together the various ideas and is applied to a fairly simple set of data. Topics discussed include a more…

This research compares the Snyder (1974) and Lennox and Wolfe (1982) self-monitoring scales. The data indicate that the Snyder scale is multidimensional. The factors of the Snyder scale correlate dissimilarly with important characteristics of self-monitors. Only the other-directedness factor is significantly related to behavioral cross situational…

A sociometric survey examined the informal faculty development network existing within the School of Nursing at East Tennessee State University. During the fall 1983 semester, all 25 nursing faculty members at the school were asked to complete a self-report instrument dealing with patterns of seeking and providing advice regarding their role as a…

Many multidimensional item response theory (IRT) models have been proposed. A comparison is made between the so-called full information models and the models that use only pairwise information. Three multidimensional models described are: (1) the compensatory model of R. D. Bock and M. Aitken (1981) using the computer program TESTFACT; (2) a model…