ERIC Number: EJ1336702
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Jun
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1644
EISSN: N/A
Assessing Measurement Invariance across Multiple Groups: When Is Fit Good Enough?
van Dijk, Wilhelmina; Schatschneider, Christopher; Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Hart, Sara A.
Educational and Psychological Measurement, v82 n3 p482-505 Jun 2022
Complex research questions often need large samples to obtain accurate estimates of parameters and adequate power. Combining extant data sets into a large, pooled data set is one way this can be accomplished without expending resources. Measurement invariance (MI) modeling is an established approach to ensure participant scores are on the same scale. There are two major problems when combining independent data sets through MI. First, sample sizes will often be large leading to small differences becoming noninvariant. Second, not all data sets may include the same combination of measures. In this article, we present a method that can deal with both these problems and is user friendly. It is a combination of generating random normal deviates for variables missing completely in combination with assessing model fit using the root mean square error of approximation "good enough principle," based on the hypothesis that the difference between groups is not zero but small. We demonstrate the method by examining MI across eight independent data sets and compare the MI decisions of the traditional and "good enough" approach. Our results show the approach has potential in combining educational data.
Descriptors: Sample Size, Data Analysis, Goodness of Fit, Measurement, Scores, Achievement Tests, Reading Tests, Grade 1, Kindergarten, Elementary School Students, Grade 2, Grade 3
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Grade 1; Primary Education; Kindergarten; Grade 2; Grade 3
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement
Grant or Contract Numbers: R21HD072286; P50HD052120; R01HD095193