Browsing by Subject "factor analysis"

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    A Psychometric Evaluation of Script Concordance Tests for Measuring Clinical Reasoning
    (2013-06) Wilson, Adam Benjamin; Pike, Gary R. (Gary Robert), 1952-; Humbert, Aloysius J.; Brokaw, James J.; Seifert, Mark F.
    Purpose: Script concordance tests (SCTs) are assessments purported to measure clinical data interpretation. The aims of this research were to (1) test the psychometric properties of SCT items, (2) directly examine the construct validity of SCTs, and (3) explore the concurrent validity of six SCT scoring methods while also considering validity at the item difficulty and item type levels. Methods: SCT scores from a problem solving SCT (SCT-PS; n=522) and emergency medicine SCT (SCT-EM; n=1040) were used to investigate the aims of this research. An item analysis was conducted to optimize the SCT datasets, to categorize items into levels of difficulty and type, and to test for gender biases. A confirmatory factor analysis tested whether SCT scores conformed to a theorized unidimensional factor structure. Exploratory factor analyses examined the effects of six SCT scoring methods on construct validity. The concurrent validity of each scoring method was also tested via a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and Pearson’s product moment correlations. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and one-way ANOVA tested the discriminatory power of the SCTs according to item difficulty and type. Results: Item analysis identified no gender biases. A combination of moderate model-fit indices and poor factor loadings from the confirmatory factor analysis suggested that the SCTs under investigation did not conform to a unidimensional factor structure. Exploratory factor analyses of six different scoring methods repeatedly revealed weak factor loadings, and extracted factors consistently explained only a small portion of the total variance. Results of the concurrent validity study showed that all six scoring methods discriminated between medical training levels in spite of lower reliability coefficients on 3-point scoring methods. In addition, examinees as MS4s significantly (p<0.001) outperformed their MS2 SCT scores in all difficulty categories. Cross-sectional analysis of SCT-EM data reported significant differences (p<0.001) between experienced EM physicians, EM residents, and MS4s at each level of difficulty. When considering item type, diagnostic and therapeutic items differentiated between all three training levels, while investigational items could not readily distinguish between MS4s and EM residents. Conclusions: The results of this research contest the assertion that SCTs measure a single common construct. These findings raise questions about the latent constructs measured by SCTs and challenge the overall utility of SCT scores. The outcomes of the concurrent validity study provide evidence that multiple scoring methods reasonably differentiate between medical training levels. Concurrent validity was also observed when considering item difficulty and item type.
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    Using Second-Order Factor Analysis in Examining Multiple Problems of Clients
    (Research on Social Work Practice is available online at [LINK]http://rsw.sagepub.com/[/LINK].[BREAK]Copyright © 1998 Sage Publications, Inc.[BREAK]The original doi for the article is 10.1177/104973159800800204. To access the doi, open the following DOI site in your browser and cut and paste the doi name where indicated: [LINK] http://dx.doi.org [/LINK]. [BREAK] Access to the original article may require subscription and authorized logon ID/password. IUPUI faculty/staff/students please check University Library resources before purchasing an article. Questions on finding the original article via our databases? Ask a librarian: [LINK] http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/research/askalibrarian[/LINK]., 1998-03) Pike, Cathy King; Hudson, Walter W.; Murphy, Douglas L.; Rathbone-McCuan, Eloise
    Data from veterans of the Persian Gulf engagement were studied to assess the potential of second-order factor analysis in examining, interpreting, and directing person-environment interventions with an array of different but related individual and environmental problems. Participants of the study were 1,532 veterans of the Persian Gulf engagement who were eligible for social services provided by the Veterans Administration. The results provided support for the use of second-order factors in examining client data and provided information about the relationships among clinically significant problems. Further research on the second-order factors of multidimensional instruments that are used in social work to measure client progress can yield information about how client populations differ and provide direction in selecting interventions that are congruent with social work's person-environment focus.