Measurement Invariance: A Tool to WEIRD-icize Global Knowledge Production?

The article examines measurement invariance in quantitative cross-cultural research. Instruments are typically translated, data are collected for the different language versions, and psychometric invariance is assessed. Items deemed equivalent are preserved, while the remaining items are traditionally eliminated. Culturally inclusive methodologies independently develop items across various cultures, translate them into a lingua franca, preserve translatable items, collect data, and corroborate invariance. Non-equivalent items are usually eliminated. A more radical strategy for preserving local (emic) elements is suggested here. Instrument developers across cultures concur on the measurability of a specific construct for which they independently create items, collect data without translation, conduct exploratory factor analysis, and rank the items based on their loadings on the primary factor. The data are subsequently amalgamated, and invariance is evaluated. Thus, for each culture, the most emically appropriate items are incorporated, sacrificing semantic uniformity while maintaining the potential for measurement invariance analysis. Semantic sameness is decoupled from covariance matrix invariance—only the latter counts.