Testing Factorial Invariance across Groups: A Reconceptualization and Proposed New Method
指出用验证性因子分析检验跨文化测量不变性时，标准化过程会导致结果不准确，并提出一种新方法，通过系统比较各组间因子载荷的所有配对来识别非不变项目，并用实例验证其有效性。
Many cross-cultural researchers are concerned with factorial invariance; that is, with whether or not members of different cultures associate survey items, or similar measures, with similar constructs. Researchers usually test items for factorial invariance using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). CFA, however, poses certain problems that must be dealt with. Primary among them is standardization, the process that assigns units of measurement to the constructs (latent variables). Two standardization procedures and several minor variants have been reported in the literature, but using these procedures when testing for factorial invariance can lead to inaccurate results. In this paper we review basic theory, and propose an extension of Byrne, Shavelson, and Muthgn’s (1989) procedure for identifying non-invariant items. The extended procedure solves the standardization problem by performing a systematic comparison of all pairs of factor loadings across groups. A numerical example based upon a large published data set is presented to illustrate the utility of the new procedure, particularly with regard to partial factorial invariance.