Latent Variable Models of Dichotomous Data

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Abstract
This issue of Sociological Methods & Research contains four excellent illustrations of current methods for analyzing dichotomous data: dichotomous factor analysis (Muthén, 1989), latent trait analysis (Eaton et al., 1989), and grade of membership analysis (Woodbury and Manton, 1989). These methods are now sufficiently developed for use by researchers, though a lack of available software for the grade of membership model renders that method mostly theoretical. Of these methods the factor analysis model succeds in carrying out the tasks set by the editors with the fewest problems. Researchers would do well, however, to look over all the methods to find the best approach for their particular problem.