Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

SAGETRACK

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Organizational Research Methods
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (1)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Nadkarni, S.
Right arrow Articles by Narayanan, V. K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Validity of the Structural Properties of Text-Based Causal Maps: An Empirical Assessment

Sucheta Nadkarni

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

V. K. Narayanan

Drexel University

Recently, text-based causal maps (TBCMs) have generated enthusiasm as a methodological tool because they provide a way of accessing large, untapped sources of data generated by organizations. Although TBCMs have been used extensively in organizational behavior and strategic management research, studies assessing the psychometric properties of TBCM measures are virtually nonexistent. With the intention of facilitating large-sample substantive research using TBCMs, the authors examine the construct validity of two most frequently employed structural properties of TBCMs: complexity and centrality. In assessing construct validity, they examine the internal consistency, dimensionality, and predictive validity of the structural properties. The results suggest that complexity is not a general cognitive attribute. Rather, it is indicative of domain knowledge. On the other hand, centrality, which reflects the degree of hierarchy characterizing the TBCM, is related to cognitive ability and may reflect general information processing. Moreover, complexity and centrality, but not cognitive ability, predicted student performance.

Key Words: causal maps • complexity • validity • cognitive maps

Organizational Research Methods, Vol. 8, No. 1, 9-40 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1094428104271999
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?