Measurement invariance in the social sciences:Historical development, methodological challenges, state of the art, and future perspectives

This review summarizes the current state of the art of statistical and (survey) methodological research on measurement (non)invariance, which is considered a core challenge for the comparative social sciences. After outlining the historical roots, conceptual details, and standard procedures for measurement invariance testing, the paper focuses in particular on the statistical developments that have been achieved in the last 10 years. These include Bayesian approximate measurement invariance, the alignment method, measurement invariance testing within the multilevel modeling framework, mixture multigroup factor analysis, the measurement invariance explorer, and the response shift-true change decomposition approach. Furthermore, the contribution of survey methodological research to the construction of invariant measurement instruments is explicitly addressed and highlighted, including the issues of design decisions, pretesting, scale adoption, and translation. The paper ends with an outlook on future research perspectives.</p

Eye-tracking Social Desirability Bias

Eye tracking is now a common technique studying the moment-by-moment cognition of those processing visual information. Yet this technique has rarely been applied to different survey modes. Our paper uses an innovative method of real-world eye tracking to look at attention to sensitive questions and response scale points, in Web, face-to-face and paper-and-pencil self-administered (SAQ) modes. We link gaze duration to responses in order to understand how respondents arrive at socially desirable or undesirable answers. Our novel technique sheds light on how social desirability biases arise from deliberate misreporting and/or satisficing, and how these vary across modes

Entrepreneurship Assessment in Higher Education: A Research Review for Engineering Education Researchers

BackgroundDespite the wide adoption of entrepreneurship by United States engineering programs, there have been few advances in how to measure the influences of entrepreneurial education on engineering students. We believe the inadequate growth in engineering entrepreneurship assessment research is due to the limited use of research emerging from the broader entrepreneurship education assessment community.PurposeThis paper explores entrepreneurship education assessment by documenting the current state of the research and identifying the theories, variables, and research designs most commonly used by the broader community. We then examine if and how these theories and constructs are used in engineering entrepreneurship education.Scope/MethodTwo literature databases, Scopus® and Proquest, were searched systematically for entrepreneurship education assessment research literature. This search yielded 2,841 unique papers. Once inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, 359 empirical research papers were coded for study design, theory, variables measured, instruments, and validity and reliability.ConclusionsWhile there has been growth in entrepreneurship education assessment research, little exchange of ideas across the disciplines of business, engineering, and education is occurring. Nonempirical descriptions of programs outweigh empirical research, and these empirical studies focus on affective, rather than cognitive or behavioral, outcomes. This pattern within the larger entrepreneurship community is mirrored in engineering where the use of theoryâ based, validated entrepreneurship education assessment instruments generally focuses on the context of intent to start a new company. Given the engineering community’s goals to support engineering entrepreneurship beyond business creation, the engineering education community should consider developing assessment instruments based in theory and focused on engineeringâ specific entrepreneurship outcomes.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145556/1/jee20197.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145556/2/jee20197_am.pd

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

A Brain Region-Specific Predictive Gene Map for Autism Derived by Profiling a Reference Gene Set

Molecular underpinnings of complex psychiatric disorders such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) remain largely unresolved. Increasingly, structural variations in discrete chromosomal loci are implicated in ASD, expanding the search space for its disease etiology. We exploited the high genetic heterogeneity of ASD to derive a predictive map of candidate genes by an integrated bioinformatics approach. Using a reference set of 84 Rare and Syndromic candidate ASD genes (AutRef84), we built a composite reference profile based on both functional and expression analyses. First, we created a functional profile of AutRef84 by performing Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis which encompassed three main areas: 1) neurogenesis/projection, 2) cell adhesion, and 3) ion channel activity. Second, we constructed an expression profile of AutRef84 by conducting DAVID analysis which found enrichment in brain regions critical for sensory information processing (olfactory bulb, occipital lobe), executive function (prefrontal cortex), and hormone secretion (pituitary). Disease specificity of this dual AutRef84 profile was demonstrated by comparative analysis with control, diabetes, and non-specific gene sets. We then screened the human genome with the dual AutRef84 profile to derive a set of 460 potential ASD candidate genes. Importantly, the power of our predictive gene map was demonstrated by capturing 18 existing ASD-associated genes which were not part of the AutRef84 input dataset. The remaining 442 genes are entirely novel putative ASD risk genes. Together, we used a composite ASD reference profile to generate a predictive map of novel ASD candidate genes which should be prioritized for future research

Age-related decreased inhibitory vs. excitatory gene expression in the adult autistic brain

Contains fulltext : 135935.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

The impact of frequency rating scale formats on the measurement of latent variables in web surveys – An experimental investigation using a measure of affectivity as an example

The effects of verbal and/or numerical labeling and number of categories on the measurement of latent variables in web surveys are addressed. Data were collected online in a quota sample of the German adult population (N = 741). A randomized 2x2x2 experimental design was applied, with variation of the number of categories, as well as of verbal and numerical labeling, using an abbreviated version of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Experimental manipulation of the rating scale formats resulted in an effect on measurement model testing and reliability, as well as on factorial and convergent validity. In addition, measurement invariance between several rating scale formats was limited. With the five category end verbalized and fully labeled seven category formats, acceptable results for all measurement quality metrics could be obtained