{"title":"反思比较政治研究中的测量等效性","authors":"K. Zhirkov, Christian Welzel","doi":"10.1177/10659129241241753","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"A growing number of studies test key cultural constructs used in comparative political research for invariance across countries, only to declare these constructs incomparable if the invariance tests fail. The assumption underlying this kind of conclusion is that between-country differences in within-country factor solutions reflect cross-cultural inequivalence of the respective survey items. Using a Bayesian approach, we explore variation in measurement quality across countries focusing on sexual emancipation. We find that between-country differences in factor solutions reflect little more than imbalances in within-country dispersions of the construct items. As we demonstrate, discrete and bounded response scales used in standard surveys enforce a mathematical relationship between extreme country means, low within-country dispersions, and weak factor solutions. We formalize this insight by introducing a between–within model of cultural variation. Our contribution calls into question the practice of declaring constructs to be incomparable based on failed invariance tests.","PeriodicalId":51366,"journal":{"name":"Political Research Quarterly","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Rethinking Measurement Equivalence in Comparative Political Research\",\"authors\":\"K. Zhirkov, Christian Welzel\",\"doi\":\"10.1177/10659129241241753\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"A growing number of studies test key cultural constructs used in comparative political research for invariance across countries, only to declare these constructs incomparable if the invariance tests fail. The assumption underlying this kind of conclusion is that between-country differences in within-country factor solutions reflect cross-cultural inequivalence of the respective survey items. Using a Bayesian approach, we explore variation in measurement quality across countries focusing on sexual emancipation. We find that between-country differences in factor solutions reflect little more than imbalances in within-country dispersions of the construct items. As we demonstrate, discrete and bounded response scales used in standard surveys enforce a mathematical relationship between extreme country means, low within-country dispersions, and weak factor solutions. We formalize this insight by introducing a between–within model of cultural variation. Our contribution calls into question the practice of declaring constructs to be incomparable based on failed invariance tests.\",\"PeriodicalId\":51366,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Political Research Quarterly\",\"volume\":null,\"pages\":null},\"PeriodicalIF\":1.5000,\"publicationDate\":\"2024-03-23\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Political Research Quarterly\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"90\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1177/10659129241241753\",\"RegionNum\":2,\"RegionCategory\":\"社会学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q2\",\"JCRName\":\"POLITICAL SCIENCE\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Political Research Quarterly","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10659129241241753","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"POLITICAL SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
Rethinking Measurement Equivalence in Comparative Political Research
A growing number of studies test key cultural constructs used in comparative political research for invariance across countries, only to declare these constructs incomparable if the invariance tests fail. The assumption underlying this kind of conclusion is that between-country differences in within-country factor solutions reflect cross-cultural inequivalence of the respective survey items. Using a Bayesian approach, we explore variation in measurement quality across countries focusing on sexual emancipation. We find that between-country differences in factor solutions reflect little more than imbalances in within-country dispersions of the construct items. As we demonstrate, discrete and bounded response scales used in standard surveys enforce a mathematical relationship between extreme country means, low within-country dispersions, and weak factor solutions. We formalize this insight by introducing a between–within model of cultural variation. Our contribution calls into question the practice of declaring constructs to be incomparable based on failed invariance tests.
期刊介绍:
Political Research Quarterly (PRQ) is the official journal of the Western Political Science Association. PRQ seeks to publish scholarly research of exceptionally high merit that makes notable contributions in any subfield of political science. The editors especially encourage submissions that employ a mixture of theoretical approaches or multiple methodologies to address major political problems or puzzles at a local, national, or global level. Collections of articles on a common theme or debate, to be published as short symposia, are welcome as well as individual submissions.