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To make meaningful comparisons on a construct of interest across groups or over time, measurement invariance needs to exist for at least a subset of the observed variables that define the construct. Often, chi-square difference tests are used to test for measurement invariance. However, these statistics are affected by sample

To make meaningful comparisons on a construct of interest across groups or over time, measurement invariance needs to exist for at least a subset of the observed variables that define the construct. Often, chi-square difference tests are used to test for measurement invariance. However, these statistics are affected by sample size such that larger sample sizes are associated with a greater prevalence of significant tests. Thus, using other measures of non-invariance to aid in the decision process would be beneficial. For this dissertation project, I proposed four new effect size measures of measurement non-invariance and analyzed a Monte Carlo simulation study to evaluate their properties and behavior in addition to the properties and behavior of an already existing effect size measure of non-invariance. The effect size measures were evaluated based on bias, variability, and consistency. Additionally, the factors that affected the value of the effect size measures were analyzed. All studied effect sizes were consistent, but three were biased under certain conditions. Further work is needed to establish benchmarks for the unbiased effect sizes.
ContributorsGunn, Heather J (Author) / Grimm, Kevin J. (Thesis advisor) / Edwards, Michael C (Thesis advisor) / Tein, Jenn-Yun (Committee member) / Anderson, Samantha F. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description
Researchers who conduct longitudinal studies are inherently interested in studying individual and population changes over time (e.g., mathematics achievement, subjective well-being). To answer such research questions, models of change (e.g., growth models) make the assumption of longitudinal measurement invariance. In many applied situations, key constructs are measured by a collection

Researchers who conduct longitudinal studies are inherently interested in studying individual and population changes over time (e.g., mathematics achievement, subjective well-being). To answer such research questions, models of change (e.g., growth models) make the assumption of longitudinal measurement invariance. In many applied situations, key constructs are measured by a collection of ordered-categorical indicators (e.g., Likert scale items). To evaluate longitudinal measurement invariance with ordered-categorical indicators, a set of hierarchical models can be sequentially tested and compared. If the statistical tests of measurement invariance fail to be supported for one of the models, it is useful to have a method with which to gauge the practical significance of the differences in measurement model parameters over time. Drawing on studies of latent growth models and second-order latent growth models with continuous indicators (e.g., Kim & Willson, 2014a; 2014b; Leite, 2007; Wirth, 2008), this study examined the performance of a potential sensitivity analysis to gauge the practical significance of violations of longitudinal measurement invariance for ordered-categorical indicators using second-order latent growth models. The change in the estimate of the second-order growth parameters following the addition of an incorrect level of measurement invariance constraints at the first-order level was used as an effect size for measurement non-invariance. This study investigated how sensitive the proposed sensitivity analysis was to different locations of non-invariance (i.e., non-invariance in the factor loadings, the thresholds, and the unique factor variances) given a sufficient sample size. This study also examined whether the sensitivity of the proposed sensitivity analysis depended on a number of other factors including the magnitude of non-invariance, the number of non-invariant indicators, the number of non-invariant occasions, and the number of response categories in the indicators.
ContributorsLiu, Yu, Ph.D (Author) / West, Stephen G. (Thesis advisor) / Tein, Jenn-Yun (Thesis advisor) / Green, Samuel (Committee member) / Grimm, Kevin J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016