INTRODUCTION In Europe it is common for outcome measures to be translated for use in other languages. This adaptation may be complicated by culturally specific approaches to certain tasks; for example, bathing. In this context the issue of cross-cultural validity becomes paramount. OBJECTIVE To facilitate the pooling of data in international studies, a project set out to evaluate the cross-cu...

The study investigated the effects of three commonly employed rater training procedures on rating accuracy novice ESL essay raters. first procedure involved going through a set benchmarked scripts with scores, second assessing before viewing scores. third was combination former and latter. A pre, post delayed post-experimental research design employed. Data were collected before, immediately af...

BACKGROUND Fatigue is a common symptom in post-polio syndrome (PPS) and can have a substantial impact on patients. There is a need for validated questionnaires to assess fatigue in PPS for use in clinical practice and research. The aim with this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Swedish version of Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20) in patients with PPS using the R...

This paper deals with the measurement of a service or product quality using Customer Satisfaction Survey results. Many different methods are used to analyse customer satisfaction data. Some use statistical models which estimate the relationship between the latent and manifest variables (LISREL, PLS, etc.), whilst others use dimensionality reduction methods (FA, PCA, etc.). All of these methods ...

This study assessed the dimensionality of the Empathy Quotient (EQ) using two statistical approaches: Rasch and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Participants included N = 658 with an autism spectrum condition diagnosis (ASC), N = 1375 family members of this group, and N = 3344 typical controls. Data were applied to the Rasch model (Rating Scale) using WINSTEPS. The Rasch model explained 83% ...

Results from Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) have shown that the genetic basis of complex traits often include many genetic variants with small to moderate effects whose identification remains a challenging problem. In this context multi-marker analysis at the gene and pathway level can complement traditional point-wise approaches that treat the genetic markers individually. In this pape...

Background and aims The nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale - Short Form (IGDS-SF9) is brief and effective to evaluate Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) severity. Although its scores show promising psychometric properties, less is known about whether different groups of gamers interpret the items similarly. This study aimed to verify the construct validity of the Persian IGDS-SF9 and examine ...

BACKGROUND Generic preference-based measures are commonly used to estimate quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) to inform resource-allocation decisions. However, concerns have been raised that generic measures may be inappropriate in palliative care. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to derive a health-state classification system that is amenable to valuation from the ten-item Palliative Care Outcom...

METHODS. A pilot questionnaire was created by consulting the literature, clinicians, and video display terminal (VDT) workers. The replies of 636 subjects completing the questionnaire were assessed using the Rasch model and conventional statistics to generate a new scale, designated the Computer-Vision Symptom Scale (CVSS17). Validity and reliability were determined by Rasch fit statistics, pri...