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Bringing values back in: the adequacy of the European Social Survey to measure values in 20 countries
[journal article]
Abstract Values are prominent in public discourse today. Theorists have long considered values central to
understanding attitudes and behavior. The Schwartz (1992) theory of basic human values has
promoted a revival of empirical research on values. The semi-annual European Social Survey
(ESS) includes a new ... view more
Values are prominent in public discourse today. Theorists have long considered values central to
understanding attitudes and behavior. The Schwartz (1992) theory of basic human values has
promoted a revival of empirical research on values. The semi-annual European Social Survey
(ESS) includes a new 21-item instrument to measure the importance of the ten basic values of the
theory. Representative national samples in 20 countries responded to the instrument in 2002-3.
We briefly describe the theory and the ESS instrument and assess its adequacy for measuring
values across countries. Using multiple group confirmatory factor analyses, augmented with
mean-structure information, we assess the configural and measurement (metric) invariance of the
values—necessary conditions for equivalence of the meaning of constructs, and scalar
invariance—a precondition for comparing value means across countries. Only if such
equivalence is established can researchers make meaningful and clearly interpretable cross-
national comparisons of value priorities and their correlates. The ESS values scale demonstrates
configural and metric invariance, allowing researchers to use it to study relationships among
values, attitudes, behavior and socio-demographic characteristics across countries. Comparing
the mean importance of values across countries is possible only for subsets of countries where
scalar invariance holds.... view less
Keywords
measurement instrument; Europe; international comparison; value; value-orientation; comparison; measurement; European Social Survey; validity; factor analysis
Classification
Methods and Techniques of Data Collection and Data Analysis, Statistical Methods, Computer Methods
Method
development of methods; basic research
Free Keywords
Human values scale; multi-group confirmatory factor analysis; configural invariance; measurement invariance; scalar invariance; cross-national comparison
Document language
English
Publication Year
2008
Page/Pages
p. 420-445
Journal
Public Opinion Quarterly, 72 (2008) 3
ISSN
1537-5331
Status
Postprint; reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works