2024/05/21 by Phil Swatton · 1 voice
Decision Sciences · Mathematics · Social Sciences · #Advanced Causal Inference Techniques #Psychometric Methodologies and Testing #Social and Intergroup Psychology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/s11135-024-01891-0
openalex publication_date 2024/05/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Abstract A methodologically important area in political science is measuring the ideology of voters. This task can be difficult, and researchers often rely on ‘off the shelf’ datasets. Many of these datasets contain unbalanced Likert scales, which risk acquiescence bias. This paper proposes a strategy for dealing with this issue. I first demonstrate using two comparable datasets from the UK how unbalanced scales produce distorted distributions and can affect regression results. Then, building on past research that utilises factor analysis to eliminate the influence of acquiescence bias, I demonstrate how researchers can utilise a person intercept confirmatory factor analysis model to obtain factor scores corrected for acquiescence in the case of fully unbalanced scales. I conclude with practical recommendations for researchers and survey designers moving forward.