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Tests of Measurement Invariance Without Subgroups: A Generalization of Classical Methods

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  • Edgar Merkle
  • Achim Zeileis

Abstract

The issue of measurement invariance commonly arises in factor-analytic contexts, with methods for assessment including likelihood ratio tests, Lagrange multiplier tests, and Wald tests. These tests all require advance definition of the number of groups, group membership, and offending model parameters. In this paper, we study tests of measurement invariance based on stochastic processes of casewise derivatives of the likelihood function. These tests can be viewed as generalizations of the Lagrange multiplier test, and they are especially useful for: (i) identifying subgroups of individuals that violate measurement invariance along a continuous auxiliary variable without prespecified thresholds, and (ii) identifying specific parameters impacted by measurement invariance violations. The tests are presented and illustrated in detail, including an application to a study of stereotype threat and simulations examining the tests’ abilities in controlled conditions. Copyright The Psychometric Society 2013

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  • Edgar Merkle & Achim Zeileis, 2013. "Tests of Measurement Invariance Without Subgroups: A Generalization of Classical Methods," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 78(1), pages 59-82, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:psycho:v:78:y:2013:i:1:p:59-82
    DOI: 10.1007/s11336-012-9302-4
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    13. Carolin Strobl & Julia Kopf & Achim Zeileis, 2011. "A new method for detecting differential item functioning in the Rasch model," Working Papers 2011-01, Faculty of Economics and Statistics, Universität Innsbruck.
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    Cited by:

    1. Edgar Merkle & Jinyan Fan & Achim Zeileis, 2014. "Testing for Measurement Invariance with Respect to an Ordinal Variable," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 79(4), pages 569-584, October.
    2. Ting Wang & Carolin Strobl & Achim Zeileis & Edgar C. Merkle, 2018. "Score-Based Tests of Differential Item Functioning via Pairwise Maximum Likelihood Estimation," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 83(1), pages 132-155, March.
    3. Satoshi Usami & Ross Jacobucci & Timothy Hayes, 2019. "The performance of latent growth curve model-based structural equation model trees to uncover population heterogeneity in growth trajectories," Computational Statistics, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 1-22, March.
    4. Dylan Molenaar, 2015. "Heteroscedastic Latent Trait Models for Dichotomous Data," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 80(3), pages 625-644, September.
    5. Felix Zimmer & Clemens Draxler & Rudolf Debelak, 2023. "Power Analysis for the Wald, LR, Score, and Gradient Tests in a Marginal Maximum Likelihood Framework: Applications in IRT," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 88(4), pages 1249-1298, December.
    6. K. B. S. Huth & L. J. Waldorp & J. Luigjes & A. E. Goudriaan & R. J. Holst & M. Marsman, 2022. "A Note on the Structural Change Test in Highly Parameterized Psychometric Models," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 87(3), pages 1064-1080, September.
    7. Gerhard Tutz & Gunther Schauberger, 2015. "A Penalty Approach to Differential Item Functioning in Rasch Models," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 80(1), pages 21-43, March.
    8. Carolin Strobl & Julia Kopf & Achim Zeileis, 2015. "Rasch Trees: A New Method for Detecting Differential Item Functioning in the Rasch Model," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 80(2), pages 289-316, June.
    9. Ting Wang & Benjamin Graves & Yves Rosseel & Edgar C. Merkle, 2022. "Computation and application of generalized linear mixed model derivatives using lme4," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 87(3), pages 1173-1193, September.
    10. Peter M. Bentler, 2016. "Covariate-free and Covariate-dependent Reliability," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 81(4), pages 907-920, December.
    11. Jones, Payton J. & Mair, Patrick & Simon, Thorsten & Zeileis, Achim, 2019. "Network Model Trees," OSF Preprints ha4cw, Center for Open Science.
    12. Payton J. Jones & Patrick Mair & Thorsten Simon & Achim Zeileis, 2020. "Network Trees: A Method for Recursively Partitioning Covariance Structures," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 85(4), pages 926-945, December.

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