Conferences

There are currently several analytic approaches available that have been proposed as useful tools for assessing measurement comparability in cross-cultural research. This introduction gives a brief overview of the main issues involved in statistically dealing with comparability problems, describes the main approaches used in the literature and applies them all to the same data. In order to demonstrate all the techniques with one example, we must make several simplifications. We forego a comprehensive presentation of the results which can be obtained when applying each technique and concentrate instead on an illustration of the main insights the different techniques offer.

Though the more advanced techniques allow for a higher flexibility and thoroughness in analysis, the basic techniques are also not without merit. They are not only easier to implement for the researcher who is more interested in substantive problems than in methodology. The basic techniques are also useful to familiarize oneself with the data which might be crucial to avoid accepting some surprising, yet entirely artifactual results that an improper application of the more complicated techniques might yield. Moreover, as we will show, a superficial application of the more advanced techniques, e.g., exclusively taking into account fit indices without also examining other relevant information (such as modification indices in confirmatory factor analysis), might lead to a failure to detect problems. Fortunately, some of the statistically more advanced methods of analysis share the ease of applicability with the basic methods. Finally, as software becomes more advanced and user-friendly, all of the advanced techniques may become easier to use and therefore more popular.