Non-Invariance? An Overstated Problem with Misconceived Causes

Autor/inn/en	Welzel, Christian; Brunkert, Lennart; Kruse, Stefan; Inglehart, Ronald F.
Titel	Non-Invariance? An Overstated Problem with Misconceived Causes
Quelle	In: Sociological Methods & Research, 52 (2023) 3, S.1368-1400 (33 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Welzel, Christian) ORCID (Inglehart, Ronald F.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0049-1241
DOI	10.1177/0049124121995521
Schlagwörter	Cross Cultural Studies; Social Science Research; Factor Analysis; Measurement Techniques; Test Items; Research Problems + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Cultural comparison; Kulturvergleich; Social scientific research; Sozialwissenschaftliche Forschung; Faktorenanalyse; Messtechnik; Test content; Testaufgabe; Forschungskritik
Abstract	Scholars study representative international surveys to understand cross-cultural differences in mentality patterns, which are measured via complex multi-item constructs. Methodologists in this field insist with increasing vigor that detecting "non-invariance" in how a construct's items associate with each other in different national samples is an infallible sign of encultured in-equivalences in how respondents understand the items. Questioning this claim, we demonstrate that a main source of non-invariance is the arithmetic of closed-ended scales in the presence of sample mean disparity. Since arithmetic principles are culture-unspecific, the non-invariance that these principles enforce in statistical terms is "inconclusive" of encultured in-equivalences in semantic terms. Because of this inconclusiveness, our evidence reveals furthermore that non-invariance is "inconsequential" for the cross-cultural functioning of multi-item constructs as concerns their nomological linkages to other variables of interest. We discuss the implications of these insights for measurement validation in cross-cultural settings with large sample mean disparity. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01