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James Madison University

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Confirmatory factor analysis

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Addressing Serial-Order And Negative-Keying Effects: A Mixed-Methods Study, Jerusha J. Gerstner May 2015

Addressing Serial-Order And Negative-Keying Effects: A Mixed-Methods Study, Jerusha J. Gerstner

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Researchers have studied item serial-order effects on attitudinal instruments by considering how item-total correlations differ based on the item’s placement within a scale (e.g., Hamilton & Shuminsky, 1990). In addition, other researchers have focused on item negative-keying effects on attitudinal instruments (e.g., Marsh, 1996). Researchers consistently have found that negatively-keyed items relate to one another above and beyond their relationship to the construct intended to be measured. However, only one study (i.e., Bandalos & Coleman, 2012) investigated the combined effects of serial-order and negative-keying on attitudinal instruments. Their brief study found some improvements in fit when attitudinal items were presented …


Measuring Motivation For Coursework Across The Academic Career: A Longitudinal Invariance Study, Makayla Grays May 2013

Measuring Motivation For Coursework Across The Academic Career: A Longitudinal Invariance Study, Makayla Grays

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Students must be sufficiently motivated in order to achieve the intended learning outcomes of their college courses. Research in education and psychology has found motivation to be context-dependent. Therefore, students’ motivation is likely to differ from one semester to the next according to which courses students are taking. However, there are also instances in which motivation levels may not change over time. In order to determine whether motivation for coursework changes across the academic career (and, if so, what variables may be related to that change), it is imperative to use a measure of motivation that is theoretically and psychometrically …


Effects Of Negative Keying And Wording In Attitude Measures: A Mixed-Methods Study, Chris M. Coleman May 2013

Effects Of Negative Keying And Wording In Attitude Measures: A Mixed-Methods Study, Chris M. Coleman

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Researchers often collect data on attitudes using “balanced” measurement scales—that is, scales with comparable numbers of positive and negative (i.e., reverse-scored) items. Many previous measurement studies have found the inclusion of negative items to be detrimental to scale reliability and validity. However, these studies have rarely distinguished among negatively-worded items, negatively-keyed items, and items with negative wording and keying. The purpose of the current study was to make those distinctions and investigate why the psychometric properties of balanced scales tend to be worse than those of scales with uniformly positive wording/keying. A mixed-methods approach was employed. In Study 1 (quantitative), …


Introducing The Unified Measure Of University Mattering: Instrument Development And Evidence Of The Structural Integrity Of Scores For Transfer And Native Students, Megan Katharine France May 2011

Introducing The Unified Measure Of University Mattering: Instrument Development And Evidence Of The Structural Integrity Of Scores For Transfer And Native Students, Megan Katharine France

Dissertations, 2014-2019

The psychological construct university mattering is defined as the feeling that one makes a difference and is significant to his or her university’s community. University mattering emerged from the theory of general mattering, which describes mattering as a complex construct consisting of the facets awareness, importance, ego-extension and reliance. The Revised University Mattering Scale (RUMS), created by writing items to represent these facets, was developed for use in the current study. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the model-data fit of the RUMS was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Five a priori models were tested using two …