{"title":"A Review of Some of the History of Factorial Invariance and Differential Item Functioning.","authors":"David Thissen","doi":"10.1080/00273171.2024.2396148","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The concept of factorial invariance has evolved since it originated in the 1930s as a criterion for the usefulness of the multiple factor model; it has become a form of analysis supporting the validity of inferences about group differences on underlying latent variables. The analysis of differential item functioning (DIF) arose in the literature of item response theory (IRT), where its original purpose was the detection and removal of test items that are differentially difficult for, or biased against, one subpopulation or another. The two traditions merge at the level of the underlying latent variable model, but their separate origins and different purposes have led them to differ in details of terminology and procedure. This review traces some aspects of the histories of the two traditions, ultimately drawing some conclusions about how analysts may draw on elements of both, and how the nature of the research question determines the procedures used. Whether statistical tests are grouped by parameter (as in studies of factorial invariance) or across parameters by variable (as in DIF analysis) depends on the context and is independent of the model, as are subtle aspects of the order of the tests. In any case in which DIF or partial invariance is a possibility, the invariant parameters, or anchor items in DIF analysis, are best selected in an interplay between the statistics and judgment about what is being measured.","PeriodicalId":53155,"journal":{"name":"Multivariate Behavioral Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Multivariate Behavioral Research","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00273171.2024.2396148","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MATHEMATICS, INTERDISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The concept of factorial invariance has evolved since it originated in the 1930s as a criterion for the usefulness of the multiple factor model; it has become a form of analysis supporting the validity of inferences about group differences on underlying latent variables. The analysis of differential item functioning (DIF) arose in the literature of item response theory (IRT), where its original purpose was the detection and removal of test items that are differentially difficult for, or biased against, one subpopulation or another. The two traditions merge at the level of the underlying latent variable model, but their separate origins and different purposes have led them to differ in details of terminology and procedure. This review traces some aspects of the histories of the two traditions, ultimately drawing some conclusions about how analysts may draw on elements of both, and how the nature of the research question determines the procedures used. Whether statistical tests are grouped by parameter (as in studies of factorial invariance) or across parameters by variable (as in DIF analysis) depends on the context and is independent of the model, as are subtle aspects of the order of the tests. In any case in which DIF or partial invariance is a possibility, the invariant parameters, or anchor items in DIF analysis, are best selected in an interplay between the statistics and judgment about what is being measured.
期刊介绍:
Multivariate Behavioral Research (MBR) publishes a variety of substantive, methodological, and theoretical articles in all areas of the social and behavioral sciences. Most MBR articles fall into one of two categories. Substantive articles report on applications of sophisticated multivariate research methods to study topics of substantive interest in personality, health, intelligence, industrial/organizational, and other behavioral science areas. Methodological articles present and/or evaluate new developments in multivariate methods, or address methodological issues in current research. We also encourage submission of integrative articles related to pedagogy involving multivariate research methods, and to historical treatments of interest and relevance to multivariate research methods.