Bias and Equivalence in Cross-Cultural Research

Suicidal Behavior and Psychological Distress in University Students: A 12-nation Study

“…Inorder to interpret the results from cross-national comparisons one should be able to make the assumption that mesaures across the groups are equal. For He, & van de Vijver, (2012) and Van de Vijver, & Poortinga, (1997) there are three kinds of bias that may endanger the validity and the generalizibility of results in cross-cultural comparisons. They are: 1) construct bias, 2) method bias and 3) item bias.…”

Detecting Anomalies in Assessment Devices for Cross-Cultural Use: Fairness Concerns

“…Measurement unit equivalence is also called metric equivalence ( [9], p. 8). It takes place when measures have equivalence in the measurement unit (of interval or ratio scales), but a difference in the onset.…”

“…However, the scores of the measurement across the first and the second group are not as directly comparable as the scores in both groups do not have metric equivalence. "With metric equivalence, scores can be compared within cultural groups…, and mean patterns and correlations across cultural groups, but scores cannot be compared directly across groups" ( [9], p. 8).…”

“…Full score equivalence is also termed as scalar equivalence ( [9], p. 8), which constitutes the highest level in equivalence. This type of equivalence is characterized by the use of the same measurement unit and the same onset.…”

“…Therefore, the results of measurement, if full score equivalence is satisfactorily met, are directly comparable as the scores obtained are free from bias. In ( [9], p. 9) argue that construct equivalence can be achieved if the construct is bias-free. Also, construct equivalence is not affected by method and item bias.…”