Item response theory-based validation of an integrated management system measurement instrument

The Item Response Theory (IRT) has become a method for investigating observable variables based on polytomous scales. Thus, the main objective of this article was to validate an Instrument measure the impacts of the Integrated Management System (IMS) using IRT. This instrument evaluates the multidimensional impact of integrated management systems on organizational performance from the workers' perspective. The IRT method was used to verify the discrimination capacity and the difficulty level of the Instrument's items, and to build a scale that expressed the perception of workers regarding the impacts of the IMS on the organizational performance of a large company in the electric power industry. The questionnaire composed of 25 items presented Cronbach's Alpha and McDonald's Omega equal to 0.964 and 0.970, respectively. As for the calculations of the Content Validity Coefficients (CVC), the results of the content effectiveness of the measurement instrument were 0.94 for clarity and coherence and 0.95 for relevance. The items of the instrument showed good discrimination ability and different levels of difficulty, which resulted in a scale of six levels to measure the impact of the IMS. It is concluded that the instrument presents good psychometric properties, as it presented adequate parameters of reliability and validity, being able to measure the impact of the IMS through interpretable levels from the peculiarities of the items that compose them.

Automated summary

The study validated an instrument using Item Response Theory to measure the impacts of Integrated Management System (IMS) on organizational performance. The instrument consisted of 25 items with good discrimination ability and difficulty levels. The findings indicated that the instrument had good psychometric properties and could measure the impact of IMS through interpretable levels.