A Method to Determine the Congruity of Dimensions Across Instruments

Abstract

This procedure can be used to ascertain if the same variables have been measured by different instruments. High school seniors responded to two semantic differential instruments, containing dissimilar concepts purporting to measure the same variables, both before and after attending a college summer orientation program. Principle components were extracted from the before as well as from the after data. Before-after component combinations were found to be highly similar, thereby providing not only for interpretations of change across the variables but also providing a heuristic for further research possibilities.