An Ordering Theoretic Method of Multidimensional Scaling of Items

Abstract

A method for the multidimensional scaling of dichotomous item data is presented which is derived from ordering theory. This method is related to the methodological multivariate extension of Guttman's scalogram analysis developed by Coombs and his students. An example is provided and comparison is provided between the data analytic results of the ordering theoretic method and those of the method of Coombs and his students for their conjunctive model. Some relationships of this method to conventional psychometric data analytic procedures are discussed.