Testing across nations and cultures: issues and complexities Online publication date: Thu, 12-Feb-2015
by Barbara M. Byrne
International Journal of Business and Globalisation (IJBG), Vol. 14, No. 2, 2015
Abstract: Scientific inquiry that focuses on multi-group comparisons across national borders can be fraught with problems. Of critical import is empirical evidence that the assessment scale is operating equivalently across groups with respect to perceived item content and dimensionality of the underlying construct. When comparisons are conducted across culture, the process is complex and becomes increasingly so as the number of groups increases and the geo-cultural bases diverge. Structural equation modelling (SEM) provides the most rigorous approach to testing for these equivalencies. The intent of this article is to: a) highlight commonly-held assumptions in testing across national groups; b) outline steps involved in testing these assumptions within the framework of SEM; c) identify three types of test bias effects and exemplify how they can impact cross-national comparisons; d) describe and evaluate translation versus adaptation of a measuring instrument from one language and culture to another language for use in another culture.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Business and Globalisation (IJBG):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook