Increasing the Precision of Subscale Scores by Using Out-of-Scale Information
- 1 November 2004
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Applied Psychological Measurement
- Vol. 28 (6), 407-426
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0146621604268736
Abstract
In this study, the precision of subscale score estimates was evaluated when out-of-scale information was incorporated. Procedures that incorporated out-of-scale information and only information within a subscale were compared through a series of simulations. It was revealed that more information (i.e., more precision) was always provided for subscale score estimates when out-of-scale information was used. The degree of the information gain depended on the number of out-of-scale items, the magnitude of item discrimination power, and the magnitude of subscale-trait correlation. Also, the accuracy of subscale score estimates was evaluated. Contrary to precision, subscale score estimates were somewhat more biased with out-of-scale information when there were more out-of-scale items and/or when out-of-scale items had high item discrimination power. This tendency was more apparent when the correlation between subscale traits was low. It was concluded that subscale-trait correlation is an important factor to be considered when out-of-scale information is used.Keywords
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