A factor analysis and item response theory analysis of an employee honesty test

Abstract

Although paper and pencil tests of employee honesty are becoming increasingly widespread in industry, a paucity of research exists regarding them. In a recent review of this literature, Sackett and Harris (1984) noted that scant psychometric evidence is available as to their merits or weaknesses. The aim of this paper is to report on the factor and item analysis of one such test. A principal axis solution and item response theory model (1-parameter) were used to examine the data. The factor analysis revealed four readily interpretable factors. With regard to the item analysis, the results indicated that on the whole most of the 40 items showed a reasonable fit to the model. The implications of this research are addressed.