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Item Similarity in Scale Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2017

Marco R. Steenbergen
Marco R. Steenbergen*
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Abstract

A statistic—the similarity coefficient—is developed for assessing the property that a set of scale items measures one and only one construct. This statistic is rooted in an explicit measurement model and is flexible enough to be used in exploratory scale analyses, even in small samples. Methods for analyzing similarity coefficients are described and illustrated in analyses of Stimson's (1991) policy mood data and Markus' (1990) popular individualism items. The Appendix discusses the statistical properties of similarity coefficients.

Type
Research Article
Information
Political Analysis , Volume 8 , Issue 3 , 23 March 2000 , pp. 261 - 283
Copyright
Copyright © 2000 by the Society for Political Methodology 

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