Journal Alert - PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODS

Title:
> Analyzing Repeated Measures Data on Individuals Nested Within Groups: Accounting for Dynamic Group Effects
>
> Authors:
> Bauer, DJ; Gottfredson, NC; Dean, D; Zucker, RA
>
> Source:
> *PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODS*, 18 (1):1-14; MAR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Researchers commonly collect repeated measures on individuals nested
> within groups such as students within schools, patients within treatment
> groups, or siblings within families. Often, it is most appropriate to
> conceptualize such groups as dynamic entities, potentially undergoing
> stochastic structural and/or functional changes over time. For instance,
> as a student progresses through school, more senior students matriculate
> while more junior students enroll, administrators and teachers may turn
> over, and curricular changes may be introduced. What it means to be a
> student within that school may thus differ from 1 year to the next. This
> article demonstrates how to use multilevel linear models to recover
> time-varying group effects when analyzing repeated measures data on
> individuals nested within groups that evolve over time. Two examples are
> provided. The 1st example examines school effects on the science
> achievement trajectories of students, allowing for changes in school
> effects over time. The 2nd example concerns dynamic family effects on
> individual trajectories of externalizing behavior and depression.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 15-35 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000315762500002
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> Information Utility: Quantifying the Total Psychometric Information Provided by a Measure
>
> Authors:
> Markon, KE
>
> Source:
> *PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODS*, 18 (1):15-35; MAR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Although advances have improved our ability to describe the measurement
> precision of a test, it often remains challenging to summarize how well
> a test is performing overall. Reliability, for example, provides an
> overall summary of measurement precision, but it is sample-specific and
> might not reflect the potential usefulness of a test if the sample is
> poorly suited for the test's purposes. The test information function,
> conversely, provides detailed sample-independent information about
> measurement precision, but it does not provide an overall summary of
> test performance. Here, the concept of information utility is
> introduced. Information utility provides an index of how much
> psychometric information a measure (e.g., item, test) provides about a
> trait overall. Information utility has a number of important applied
> implications, including test selection, trait estimation, computerized
> adaptive testing, and hypothesis testing. Information utility may have
> particular utility in situations where the accuracy of prior information
> about trait level is vague or unclear.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 36-52 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000315762500003
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> How IRT Can Solve Problems of Ipsative Data in Forced-Choice Questionnaires
>
> Authors:
> Brown, A; Maydeu-Olivares, A
>
> Source:
> *PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODS*, 18 (1):36-52; MAR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> In. multidimensional forced-choice (MFC) questionnaires, items measuring
> different attributes are presented in blocks, and participants have to
> rank order the items within each block (fully or partially). Such
> comparative formats can reduce the impact of numerous response biases
> often affecting single-stimulus items (aka rating or Likert scales).
> However, if scored with traditional methodology, MFC instruments produce
> ipsative data, whereby all individuals have a common total test score.
> Ipsative scoring distorts individual profiles (it is impossible to
> achieve all high or all low scale scores), construct validity
> (covariances between scales must sum to zero), criterion-related
> validity (validity coefficients must sum to zero), and reliability
> estimates. We argue that these problems are caused by inadequate scoring
> of forced-choice items and advocate the use of item response theory
> (IRT) models based on an appropriate response process for comparative
> data, such as Thurstone's law of comparative judgment. We show that when
> Thurstonian IRT modeling is applied (Brown & Maydeu-Olivares, 2011),
> even existing forced-choice questionnaires with challenging features can
> be scored adequately and that the IRT-estimated scores are free from the
> problems of ipsative data.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 53-70 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000315762500004
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> Examination of the Equivalence of Self-Report Survey-Based Paper-and-Pencil and Internet Data Collection Methods
>
> Authors:
> Weigold, A; Weigold, IK; Russell, EJ
>
> Source:
> *PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODS*, 18 (1):53-70; MAR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> Self-report survey-based data collection is increasingly carried out
> using the Internet, as opposed to the traditional paper-and-pencil
> method. However, previous research on the equivalence of these methods
> has yielded inconsistent findings. This may be due to methodological and
> statistical issues present in much of the literature, such as
> nonequivalent samples in different conditions due to recruitment,
> participant self-selection to conditions, and data collection
> procedures, as well as incomplete or inappropriate statistical
> procedures for examining equivalence. We conducted 2 studies examining
> the equivalence of paper-and-pencil and Internet data collection that
> accounted for these issues. In both studies, we used measures of
> personality, social desirability, and computer self-efficacy, and, in
> Study 2, we used personal growth initiative to assess quantitative
> equivalence (i.e., mean equivalence), qualitative equivalence (i.e.,
> internal consistency and intercorrelations), and auxiliary equivalence
> (i.e., response rates, missing data, completion time, and comfort
> completing questionnaires using paper-and-pencil and the Internet).
> Study 1 investigated the effects of completing surveys via
> paper-and-pencil or the Internet in both traditional (i.e., lab) and
> natural (i.e., take-home) settings. Results indicated equivalence across
> conditions, except for auxiliary equivalence aspects of missing data and
> completion time. Study 2 examined mailed paper-and-pencil and Internet
> surveys without contact between experimenter and participants. Results
> indicated equivalence between conditions, except for auxiliary
> equivalence aspects of response rate for providing an address and
> completion time. Overall, the findings show that paper-and-pencil and
> Internet data collection methods are generally equivalent, particularly
> for quantitative and qualitative equivalence, with nonequivalence only
> for some aspects of auxiliary equivalence.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 71-86 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000315762500005
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> Structural Equation Model Trees
>
> Authors:
> Brandmaier, AM; von Oertzen, T; McArdle, JJ; Lindenberger, U
>
> Source:
> *PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODS*, 18 (1):71-86; MAR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> In the behavioral and social sciences, structural equation models (SEMs)
> have become widely accepted as a modeling tool for the relation between
> latent and observed variables. SEMs can be seen as a unification of
> several multivariate analysis techniques. SEM Trees combine the
> strengths of SEMs and the decision tree paradigm by building tree
> structures that separate a data set recursively into subsets with
> significantly different parameter estimates in a SEM. SEM Trees provide
> means for finding covariates and covariate interactions that predict
> differences in structural parameters in observed as well as in latent
> space and facilitate theory-guided exploration of empirical data. We
> describe the methodology, discuss theoretical and practical
> implications, and demonstrate applications to a factor model and a
> linear growth curve model.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 87-100 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000315762500006
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> A Multilevel Simultaneous Equations Model for Within-Cluster Dynamic Effects, With an Application to Reciprocal Parent-Child and Sibling Effects
>
> Authors:
> Steele, F; Rasbash, J; Jenkins, J
>
> Source:
> *PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODS*, 18 (1):87-100; MAR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> There has been substantial interest in the social and health sciences in
> the reciprocal causal influences that people in close relationships have
> on one another. Most research has considered reciprocal processes
> involving only 2 units, although many social relationships of interest
> occur within a larger group (e.g., families, work groups, peer groups,
> classrooms). This article presents a general longitudinal multilevel
> modeling framework for the simultaneous estimation of reciprocal
> relationships among individuals with unique roles operating in a social
> group. We use family data for illustrative purposes, but the model is
> generalizable to any social group in which measurements of individuals
> in the social group occur over time, individuals have unique roles, and
> clustering of the data is evident. We allow for the possibility that the
> outcomes of family members are influenced by a common set of unmeasured
> family characteristics. The multilevel model we propose allows for
> residual variation in the outcomes of parents and children at the
> occasion, individual, and family levels and residual correlation between
> parents and children due to the unmeasured shared environment, genetic
> factors, and shared measurement. Another advantage of this method over
> approaches used in previous family research is it can handle mixed
> family sizes. The method is illustrated in an analysis of maternal
> depression and child delinquency using data from the Avon Brothers and
> Sisters Study.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 101-119 (Article)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000315762500007
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> A General and Flexible Approach to Estimating the Social Relations Model Using Bayesian Methods
>
> Authors:
> Ludtke, O; Robitzsch, A; Kenny, DA; Trautwein, U
>
> Source:
> *PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODS*, 18 (1):101-119; MAR 2013
>
> Abstract:
> The social relations model (SRM) is a conceptual, methodological, and
> analytical approach that is widely used to examine dyadic behaviors and
> interpersonal perception within groups. This article introduces a
> general and flexible approach to estimating the parameters of the SRM
> that is based on Bayesian methods using Markov chain Monte Carlo
> techniques. The Bayesian approach overcomes several statistical problems
> that have plagued SRM researchers. First, it provides a single unified
> approach to estimating SRM parameters that can be easily extended to
> more specialized models (e.g., measurement models, moderator variables,
> categorical outcome variables). Second, sampling-based Bayesian methods
> allow statistically reliable inferences to be made about variance
> components and correlations, even with small sample sizes. Third, the
> Bayesian approach is able to handle designs with missing data. In a
> simulation study, the statistical properties (bias, root-mean-square
> error, coverage rate) of the parameter estimates produced by the
> Bayesian approach are compared with those of the method of moment
> estimates that have been used in previous research. A data example is
> presented to illustrate how discrete person moderators can be included
> in SRM analyses using the Bayesian approach. Finally, further extensions
> of the SRM are discussed, and suggestions for applied research are made.
>
> ========================================================================
>
>
> *Pages: 120-120 (Correction)
> *View Full Record: http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=Alerting&SrcApp=Alerting&DestApp=CCC&DestLinkType=FullRecord;KeyUT=CCC:000315762500008
> *Order Full Text [ ]
>
> Title:
> A mixed model approach to meta-analysis of diagnostic studies with binary test outcome
>
> Authors:
> Doebler, P; Holling, H; Bohning, D
>
> Source:
> *PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODS*, 18 (1):120-120; MAR 2013
>
>