Improving the Factor Structure of Psychological Scales: The Expanded Format as an Alternative to the Likert Scale Format

SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://sagepub.com

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30

Factor Structure; Psychological Testing; Alternative Assessment; Test Items; Item Analysis; Test Format; Self Concept Measures; Goodness of Fit; Test Reliability; Test Validity; Test Bias; Likert Scales; Undergraduate Students; Online Surveys; Psychometrics; Factor Analysis; Correlation; Rating Scales; Foreign Countries; Measures (Individuals); Depression (Psychology); Self Esteem

Beck Depression Inventory; Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale

10.1177/0013164415596421

0013-1644

Many psychological scales written in the Likert format include reverse worded (RW) items in order to control acquiescence bias. However, studies have shown that RW items often contaminate the factor structure of the scale by creating one or more method factors. The present study examines an alternative scale format, called the Expanded format, which replaces each response option in the Likert scale with a full sentence. We hypothesized that this format would result in a cleaner factor structure as compared with the Likert format. We tested this hypothesis on three popular psychological scales: the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale, the Conscientiousness subscale of the Big Five Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory II. Scales in both formats showed comparable reliabilities. However, scales in the Expanded format had better (i.e., lower and more theoretically defensible) dimensionalities than scales in the Likert format, as assessed by both exploratory factor analyses and confirmatory factor analyses. We encourage further study and wider use of the Expanded format, particularly when a scale's dimensionality is of theoretical interest.

As Provided

64

2016

EJ1099057