Illustrated is the power of multidimensional scaling in reducing a complex set of proximity measures to a simple geometric picture that shows the relationship among data objects. Methods are discussed for determining the number of dimensions needed to represent a set. (Author/DEP)

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 Galileo System, a variant of metric multidimensional scaling, is used in this paper to analyze over-time changes in social networks. The paper first discusses the theoretical necessity for the use of this procedure and the methodological problems associated with its use. It then examines the air traffic network among 31 major cities in the…

This report describes the multidimensional scaling (MDS) method for interpreting collection overlap based on the number of books held by pairs of libraries in large groups (as many as 100 libraries or more). MDS results for four groups of libraries sampled from the OCLC database are also presented. MDS is described as a class of data-analytic or…

This study was undertaken to compare non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) and factor analysis (FA) as means of assessing dimensionality in relation to item response theory (IRT). FA assesses correlation matrices, while MDS performs an analysis of proximity measures. Seven data sets were generated; each differed from the others with respect to…

The purpose of this paper is to present a generalization of the concept of item difficulty to test items that measure more than one dimension. Three common definitions of item difficulty were considered: the proportion of correct responses for a group of individuals; the probability of a correct response to an item for a specific person; and the…

If a person has an extreme score on a personality-trait measure, that trait should play a role in dictating which aspects of the environment are important to the individual. Subjects were asked to rate their dyadic communication with each of eight significant other people on a number of bipolar adjective scales. A multidimensional scaling analysis…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the capabilities of various procedures for sorting dichotomously-scored items into unidimensional subjects. The procedures include: factor analysis, nonmetric multidimensional scaling, cluster analysis, and latent trait analysis. Both simulated and real data sets of known structure were used to evaluate the…

Shepard-Kruskal's nonmetric multidimensional scaling procedure (KYST) is used to discern those statistical concepts which are most confusing and/or ambiguous to graduate students, as well as to determine if a series of lectures in statistics will influence students' responses to more closely approximate those of their professors'. An instrument…

The present study focuses on multiple dimensions of face-to-face marriage interaction as the basis for identifying patterns or "types" of couple relating. The research assumes that it is possible to classify marriage relationships by criteria which are objective enough to allow replication and concensus. Particular emphasis is placed on the…

The present study examined three different methods of data collection in which subjects judged proximity between object pairs. One method required subjects to partition objects into homogeneous subsets; the second entailed rating object pairs on a similarity-dissimilarity continuum; and the third involved comparing inter-object proximities to a…

Described is the Empire State Office of Research and Evaluation multiple perspective strategy for evaluation of academic programs. The uncommon Studio Arts Program in New York City is used as a model. This program is politically as well as educationally important to the institution, which introduces internal and external pressures on the research.…

Models for multidimensional scaling use metric spaces with additive difference metrics. Two important properties of additive difference metrics are decomposability and intradimensional subtractivity. A prediction was derived from these properties and tested experimentally. Eleven non-psychology students were used as subjects. Rectangles varying in…