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Statistical and Methodological Myths and Urban Legends

Doctrine, Verity and Fable in Organizational and Social Sciences

• Edited by Charles E. Lance, Robert J. Vandenberg

• Price: $89.00 $80.10
• Binding: Hardback (also available in Paperback)
• Pages: 408
• Published by: Routledge Academic
• Publication Date: 3rd October 2008
• ISBN: 978-0-8058-6237-9

About the Book

This book provides an up-to-date review of commonly undertaken methodological and statistical practices that are sustained, in part, upon sound rationale and justification and, in part, upon unfounded lore. Some examples of these "methodological urban legends" as we refer to them in this book are characterized by manuscript critiques such as: (a) "your self-report measures suffer from common method bias;" (b) "your item-to-subject ratios are too low;" (c) "you can’t generalize these findings to the real world;" or (d) "your effect sizes are too low."

Historically, there is a kernel of truth to most of these legends, but in many cases that truth has been long forgotten, ignored or embellished beyond recognition. This book examines several such legends. Each chapter is organized to address: (a) What is the legend that "we (almost) all know to be true;" (b) What is the "kernel of truth" to each legend; (c) What are the myths that have developed around this kernel of truth; and (d) What should the state of the practice be? This book meets an important need for the accumulation and integration of these methodological and statistical practices.

Reviews

“The chapters in this book address topics with which every researcher has grappled with such as missing data, tests of moderating and mediating effects, dependence on self report data, and the importance of the sample of respondents available. With the increased interest and use of qualitative research, this volume should also be of wide interest. The book’s chapters promise to be standard citations in research papers for many years to come. Students are likely to find this book invaluable as they begin research careers. More experienced researchers will likely relate to these chapters as well, since they will have experienced the frustration associated with many of these problems firsthand." -Neal Schmitt,Chair, Michigan State University

"Misconceptions about methods are all too common in the organizational and social sciences and they impede research progress. Until now, researchers lacked a comprehensive guidebook that separates fact from fiction regarding appropriate methodological choices. Drawing on a world class team of authors, Lance and Vandenberg close the gap between 'what we know' and 'what we need to know' about missing data, factor analysis, moderation, mediation, structural equation modeling, sampling and many other essential methodological issues." -Dave Ketchen, Lowder Eminent Scholas and Professor of Management, Auburn University

"For every management researcher, this is a GREAT book. The chapters improve one's technical skills but also explain the many, many details that one always wanted to know. I recommend this book for all researchers and graduate and doctoral students. It's as close to a 'must have' as there can be." -Tom Lee, Michael G. Foster School of Business, University of Washington

Table of Contents

Preface. Part 1. Statistical Issues. D. A. Newman, Missing Data Techniques and Low Response Rates: The Role of Systematic Nonresponse Parameters. M. J. Zickar, A. A. Broadfoot, The Partial Revival of a Dead Horse? Comparing Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory. D. L. Bandalos, M. R. Boehm, Four Common Misconceptions in Exploratory Factor Analysis. A. W. Meade, T. S. Behrend, C. E. Lance, Dr. StrangeLOVE, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Omitted Variables. J. M. LeBreton, J. Wu, M. N. Bing, The Truth(s) on Testing for Mediation in the Social and Organizational Sciences. J. R. Edwards, Seven Deadly Myths of Testing Moderation in Organizational Research. R. J. Vandenberg, D. M. Grelle, Alternative Model Specifications in Structural Equation Modeling: Facts, Fictions, and Truth. R. S. Landis, B. D. Edwards, J. M. Cortina, On the Practice of Allowing Correlated Residuals Among Indicators in Structural Equation Models. Part 2. Methodological Issues. L. T. Eby, C. S. Hurst, M. M. Butts, Qualitative Research: The Red-Headed Stepchild in Organizational and Social Science Research? S. Highhouse, J. Z. Gillespie, Do Samples Really Matter That Much? H. Aguinis, E. E. Harden, Sample Size Rules of Thumb: Evaluating Three Common Practices. J. M. Cortina, R. S. Landis, When Small Effect Sizes Tell a Big Story, and When Large Effect Sizes Don’t. D. Chan, Why Ask Me? Are Self-report Data Really that Bad? C. E. Lance, L. E. Baranik, A. R. Lau, E. A. Scharlau, If It Ain’t Trait It Must Be Method: (Mis)application of the Multitrait-Multimethod Design in Organizational Research. M. M. Butts, T. W. H. Ng Chopped Liver? OK. Chopped Data? Not OK.

About the Author(s)

Charles E. Lance is a Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology at The University of Georgia. His work in the areas of performance measurement, assessment center validity, research methods, and structural equation modeling has appeared in such journals as Psychological Methods, Organizational Research Methods (ORM), Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Management and Multivariate Behavioral Research. His 2000 ORM article with Bob Vandenberg on measurement invariance is the most often cited article in ORM’s history and won the 2005 Research Methods Division’s Robert McDonald Advancement of Organizational Research Methodology Award. His 2006 ORM article on the origin and evolution of four statistical cutoff criteria won the Research Methods Division of the Academy of Management Best Paper of the Year Award. Also, his 2008 article "Why Assessment Centers (ACs) Do Not Work the Way They’re Supposed to" was one of the two inaugural focal articles in Industrial and Organizational Psychology: An Exchange of Perspectives on Science and Practice. Dr. Lance is also co-editor of Performance Measurement: Current Perspectives and Future Challenges (with Wink Bennett and Dave Woehr). Dr. Lance is a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) and the American Psychological Association, former President of the Atlanta Society for Applied Psychology, is a member of the Society for Organizational Behavior and is a licensed psychologist in the State of Georgia. He is currently Associate Editor of ORM, and on the editorial boards of Personnel Psychology, Human Performance, and Group & Organization Management.

Robert J. Vandenberg is a Professor of Management in the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA (USA). Bob's primary substantive research focuses are on organizational commitment, and high involvement work processes. His methodolog

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