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Polytomous McDonald's Omega

Polytomous McDonald's omega estimates the internal consistency reliability of a scale composed of ordinal (polytomous) items — such as Likert-type responses — by computing omega from a factor model fitted to the polychoric correlation matrix rather than the Pearson correlation matrix, yielding estimates that are unbiased by the discreteness of item responses.

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Sources

  1. Zumbo, B. D., Gadermann, A. M., & Zeisser, C. (2007). Ordinal versions of coefficients alpha and theta as measures of internal consistency for Likert rating scales. Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods, 6(1), 21–29. DOI: 10.22237/jmasm/1177992180
  2. McDonald, R. P. (1999). Test theory: A unified treatment. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN: 978-0805830750

Related methods

ScholarGatePolytomous McDonald's omega (McDonald's Omega Reliability for Polytomous Items). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/psychometrics/polytomous-mcdonalds-omega