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Maximal Weighting of Qualitative Data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2025

Robert J. Wherry
Robert J. Wherry*
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina
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Abstract

A method whereby biographical or other questionnaire data of a purely qualitative nature may be used to predict success or failure on an independent criterion is presented. The method is not new but the present least-squares derivation and the transformation equation for punched card coding were not available in the literature. The proper weights are found to be proportional to the per cent of passers in the various categories. The method is suggested as a suitable substitute for non-linear approaches in connection with purely quantitative data as well. The implications of reweighting in connection with multiple regression is discussed. The lavish use of degrees of freedom makes cross-validation extremely desirable.

Type
Original Paper
Information
Psychometrika , Volume 9 , Issue 4 , December 1944 , pp. 263 - 266
Copyright
Copyright © 1944 The Psychometric Society

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References

* It is obvious that the frequencies in the example are too few in most categories to establish reliable weights, but the principle remains the same. In practice the usual formulas for reliability of percentages and the usual restrictions concerning cell frequencies in any contingency problems should be taken into account.