Measurement Instruments for the Social Sciences

Going Global: 39 Language Versions of the BFI-2-XS

2025-01-21T23:58:22-08:00

In the 2023 Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), the Big Five personality traits were assessed using the 15-item extra-short form of the Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2-XS). For this purpose, the instrument was translated into 24 languages and adapted to 29 countries, resulting in 39 language versions. This translation and adaptation process followed state-of-the-art procedures to generate language versions of the BFI-2-XS that are maximally comparable across countries and regions. In the present paper, we describe this general translation procedure from a methodological point of view. We also document each resulting language version and report in detail the decisions taken during the translation process and the adaptations made to preexisting national versions of the BFI-2-XS. Our aim is to share with researchers the resulting BFI-2-XS language versions developed with high quality standards to allow maximal cross-cultural comparability. Our intention in so doing is to enable their wider usage beyond PIAAC.

The Measurement of (Dis-)Embedded Identification

2024-12-03T00:13:36-08:00

This article introduces and examines novel measures for generally applicable and insightful forms of collective identification, namely embedded identification and dis-embedded identification, which describe specific constellations of identification with a subordinate ingroup and the respective superordinate (in)group. The measure development process was guided by social identity theory and self-categorization theory, by items employed in previous research, and by empirical research addressing or containing measures of collective identification. In two samples, the young generation in Germany and Muslims in England, the measures showed no problematic characteristics, decent reliability, decent corrected item-total correlations, basic construct validity, as well as metric invariance across both samples. The presented findings hold implications for further research, as the measures provide a reliable and valid option to measure novel forms of collective identification of major interest and relevance for the comprehension of intergroup processes and conflicts in modern and plural societies. Detailed information is provided to enable replication, further use, and further development of the presented measures.

Psychometric Evaluation of Schwarzer & Jerusalem's General Self-Efficacy Scale Among Indian Adolescents: A Factor Analysis and Multidimensional Item Response Theory Approach

2024-11-14T04:46:43-08:00

Introduction: The General Self-Efficacy (GSE) scale developed by Schwarzer and Jerusalem has been found in previous studies to be both unidimensional and multidimensional constructs. Objective: This study applied factor analysis (FA) and multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) techniques to evaluate the GSE scale’s factor structure in Indian adolescents. Method: The data for this study was taken from the latest round of the Young Lives Survey (YLS) conducted in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in 2016. The GSE scale’s dimensionality was confirmed with factor analysis, and item parameters were estimated using the graded response model in the MIRT approach. Sex-wise measurement of invariance was also checked using the factor analysis approach. Results: The value of Cronbach’s alpha was 0.75, demonstrating a fairly good internal consistency. Both FA and MIRT indicated the presence of two dimensions of the GSE scale. Items 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10 were associated with one-dimension named ‘general self-efficacy’, while Items 1, 3, and 6 were highly loaded with another dimension named ‘task-specific self-efficacy’. The statistics obtained from MIRT showed that this scale is useful for studies involving subjects with lower levels of self-efficacy. Slight modifications to items 2 and 3 may be made before using them in an Indian context.

Biased Bivariate Correlations in Combined Survey Data Measured With Different Instruments

2024-08-14T00:05:29-07:00

Social scientists increasingly form composite datasets using data from different survey programs, which often use different single-question instruments to measure the same latent construct. This creates an obstacle when we want to run analyses using the combined data, since the scores measured with different instruments are not necessarily comparable. In this paper, we explore one consequence of such comparability problems. Specifically, we examine the case where instruments measuring the same construct have different item difficulties. This means if we applied the instruments to the same population, we would get different mean responses. If such mean differences are not mitigated before combining data, we introduce a mean bias into our composite data. Such mean bias has direct consequences for analyses based on the combined data. In data drawn from the same population, mean bias introduces error variance. In data drawn from different populations it would bias or even invert true population differences. However, in this paper I demonstrate that mean bias can also bias bivariate correlations if one or both variables in a composite dataset are subject to mean bias. If differences in item difficulty are not mitigated before combining data, we introduce a variant of Simpson’s paradox into our data: The bivariate correlation in each source survey might differ substantially from the correlation in the composite dataset. In a set of systematic simulations, I demonstrate this correlation bias effect and show how it changes depending on the mean biases in each variable and the strength of the underlying true correlation.

Uncovering Regional Inequalities in Digitalization: A Multifaceted Measurement for Germany

2024-07-03T00:21:03-07:00

The ongoing global digital transformation has significant implications for economies and societies, with potential benefits and challenges. This study addresses the critical need for a comprehensive measurement of regional digitalization in Germany to better understand its impact on various aspects of life, including education, employment, and working conditions. Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), it introduces a multifaceted regional digitalization measure at the administrative district level (NUTS-3) that incorporates digital infrastructure, culture, technology capacity, high-tech human capital, and digitalization-related innovativeness. Results for 2013 and 2017 are compared. The study reveals that digitalization varies significantly across regions, but hardly over time. Urban regions tend to have higher digitalization levels, which are positively associated with economic productivity and high-skilled labor demand. Our developed measurement of regional digitalization is publicly available.

Master Turkers: An Assessment of Data Quality

2024-07-03T00:21:12-07:00

Amazon’s Mechanical Turk has greatly increased in popularity in recent years considering recent world events as well as due to the increased acceptance of technology in the field of research. Because of this, it is essential that the research methods associated with conducting research online be evaluated. The present study evaluated if Amazon’s upper echelon of workers, Master Turkers, provide a higher quality of data relative to workers without that designation. This was evaluated using two scales that are validated and have been extensively used in research. The results showed that Master Turkers were found to have worse performance on scales (lower reliability) compared to non-Master Turkers. This data highlights an issue that potential researchers should be aware of when using the Mechanical Turk, as well as problem that should be addressed by Amazon.

Measuring Ageism: Psychometric Analysis of the Portuguese Short Form of the Fraboni Scale (FSA-SF)

2024-05-13T03:23:11-07:00

This article reports the development of a Portuguese shortened form of the Fraboni Scale of Ageism FSA (FSA-SF). The original FSA with 29 items measures the affective aspect of attitudes toward elderly to complement the cognitive component evaluated by other tools. Two studies were implemented to determine the psychometric features of the FSA-SF with 9 items. In the first study, 404 participants answered a questionnaire in Portuguese to evaluate the dimensionality of the FSA-SF via confirmatory factor analysis. In addition, the second-order factor, the reliability, and the convergent validity of the FSA-SF was assessed. Results showed 3 factors (Avoidance, Stereotypes, and Discrimination) with a second order factor (Ageism). The reliability and convergent validity of the FSA-SF were adequate. In the second study, 246 participants also answered a questionnaire in Portuguese to evaluate the replicability of the 3-factor structure and the second-order factor. In addition, the reliability, convergent, and incremental validity of the FSA-SF were examined. Good construct validity for the first and second order models was replicated via confirmatory factor analyses. Findings showed that the Portuguese FSA-SF had satisfactory reliability, convergent, and incremental validity. Overall, this article determines that the Portuguese shortened FSA-SF is an adequate tool to assess ageism.

German Translation of the Four-Item Mentalising Index (FIMI-G)

2024-02-08T00:25:21-08:00

Mentalising can be defined as the social-cognitive ability to understand and infer the mental non-emotional states of oneself and others. Recently, the Four-Item Mentalising Index (FIMI), a self-report scale, was developed to efficiently measure mentalising ability in English-speaking samples. This study presents a German translation of the FIMI—namely, the Four-Item Mentalising Index-German (FIMI-G). To assess the usefulness of the translation, initial evidence for the psychometric properties of the FIMI-G was gathered in a German-speaking sample from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland (N = 283). As expected, the corrected item-total correlations, the confirmatory factor analysis, and the inner consistency estimation indicated a homogenous, unidimensional measure which corresponds to the English original. In addition, the FIMI-G scores were related to the validation criteria as expected. Socially desirable responding did not undermine the validity. It is concluded that the German FIMI translation is a useful measure.

Measuring Organizational Transparency With 10 Items: Validation of a German Short Scale

2024-02-08T00:25:22-08:00

In recent research on transparency in organizational settings, a multidimensional understanding of supervisor transparency has gained acceptance. Following recent operationalizations, the construct can be measured by the five dimensions of Disclosure, Clarity, Accuracy, Timeliness, and Relevance of shared information. Initial applications of the scale already show its usefulness in that theoretically well-founded relationships, e.g., to trust, could be empirically supported using the instrument. As the instrument consists of twenty items, it can be too long for specific application fields. A shorter, more economical instrument is of value, especially in surveys that include many different constructs. In this article, we report on our testing of the suitability of a German shorter version consisting of only ten items. The results show that this instrument respects the dimensionality of the construct and leads to similar effects concerning its relationship to trust (-worthiness) and job satisfaction compared to the long scale. The findings also support the notion that individual transparency dimensions have different and distinct effects. Thus, the importance of a multidimensional understanding of transparency in organizational settings is also underlined by the short scale.

Toward French and Italian Language Validations of the Conspiracy Mentality Scale (CMS)

2023-10-31T01:23:54-07:00

The growing scientific interest in conspiracy beliefs calls for validated measures of conspiracy mentality, the tendency to believe any conspiracy theory. In this study, we validate a French and Italian version of the Conspiracy Mentality Scale (CMS). French (N = 160) and Italian (N = 114) speaking residents of Switzerland filled out a questionnaire, including measures of the need for social validation, compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures, perceived severity of the pandemic, and functional literacy. The two-dimensionality of the scale (conspiracy theory ideation and skepticism) was validated by confirmatory factor analysis. As predicted, conspiracy theory ideation was negatively related to functional literacy and compliance with pandemic control measures, and positively related to social validation. Measurement invariance indicated metric, scalar, residual and strucutral equivalence across the two samples. We conclude that the French and Italian versions of the CMS lend a valid assessment of people’s general tendency to believe conspiracy theories.