TECHNIQUE FOR MINIMIZING THE INSTRUMENTAL FACTOR.

Area of Science:

• Psychometrics
• Quantitative Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Comparing data from different measurement tools (media) can be challenging due to instrumental factors.
• Existing methods like the hypothesis matrix technique may not fully resolve these instrumental factor issues.
• Orthogonal factor scores offer a potential solution for more accurate cross-media comparisons.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate a novel technique using orthogonal factor scores for comparing item-scores across different measurement media.
• To minimize the impact of instrumental factors in multi-source data analysis.
• To compare the effectiveness of the direct factor score method against the hypothesis matrix technique.

Main Methods:

• The study describes a technique employing orthogonal factor scores to analyze item-scores from multiple media.
• A comparative analysis was conducted using data from a behavior rating scale and a structured psychiatric interview scale.
• The direct factor score method was directly contrasted with the hypothesis matrix technique.

Main Results:

• The direct factor score method demonstrated greater effectiveness compared to the hypothesis matrix technique.
• This method resulted in larger factor loadings, indicating stronger relationships between variables and factors.
• Consequently, the direct factor score method facilitated the extraction of a greater number of distinct and well-defined factors.

Conclusions:

• The direct factor score method is a more effective approach for comparing item-scores across different measurement media.
• Its ability to yield larger loadings leads to the identification of more numerous and clearly delineated factors.
• This technique offers an improved solution for addressing the instrumental factor problem in psychometric research.