Victoria Savalei, University of British Columbia

Research

Read how they describe their research on their University of British Columbia profile.

Latest papers

Calculating and Interpreting Maximal Reliability in Bifactor Models.
Multivariate behavioral research · 2026 · senior author
Improving the Measurement of the Big Five via Alternative Formats for the BFI-2.
Journal of personality assessment · 2026 · senior author
Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test Scores Demonstrate Poor Structural Properties in Nine Large Non-Clinical Samples.
Assessment · 2026

All 22 publications

Latest funding

Model selection for psychological scales
SSHRC · 2023 · Principal investigator
$8,000
Model selection for psychological scales
SSHRC · 2023 · Principal investigator
$52,956
Improving Fit Assessment and Incomplete Data Diagnostics in Structural Equation Modeling
NSERC · 2021 · Principal investigator
$72,000

All 10 grants and awards

22 publications.

01

Calculating and Interpreting Maximal Reliability in Bifactor Models.

Li S, Savalei V

Multivariate behavioral research2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1080/00273171.2025.2612035 PMID: 41637133

02

Improving the Measurement of the Big Five via Alternative Formats for the BFI-2.

Zhang X, Huang M, Sun J, Savalei V

Journal of personality assessment2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1080/00223891.2025.2531187 PMID: 40772674

03

Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test Scores Demonstrate Poor Structural Properties in Nine Large Non-Clinical Samples.

Higgins WC, Savalei V, Polito V, Ross RM

Assessment2026

DOI: 10.1177/10731911251328604 PMID: 40156442

04

Estimated Factor Scores Are Not True Factor Scores.

Rhemtulla M, Savalei V

Multivariate behavioral research2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1080/00273171.2024.2444943 PMID: 39838883

05

Examining the performance of the chi-square difference test when the unrestricted model is slightly misspecified.

Folk D, Savalei V

Behavior research methods2024Senior author

DOI: 10.3758/s13428-024-02384-6 PMID: 38565742

06

Validation of the reading the mind in the eyes test requires an interpretable factor model.

Higgins WC, Savalei V, Polito V, Ross RM

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2023

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2303706120 PMID: 38109524

07

Comparing the Psychometric Properties of a Scale Across Three Likert and Three Alternative Formats: An Application to the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.

Zhang X, Zhou L, Savalei V

Educational and psychological measurement2023Senior author

DOI: 10.1177/00131644221111402 PMID: 37398842

08

Three Sample Estimates of Fraction of Missing Information From Full Information Maximum Likelihood.

Chen L, Savalei V

Frontiers in psychology2021Senior author

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.667802 PMID: 34512436

09

Can Researchers' Personal Characteristics Shape Their Statistical Inferences?

Dunn EW, Chen L, Proulx JDE, Ehrlinger J, Savalei V

Personality & social psychology bulletin2021Senior author

DOI: 10.1177/0146167220950522 PMID: 32865124

10

Improving Fit Indices in Structural Equation Modeling with Categorical Data.

Savalei V

Multivariate behavioral research2021First author

DOI: 10.1080/00273171.2020.1717922 PMID: 32054327

Model selection for psychological scales

Principal investigatorSSHRC2023Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Savalei, Victoria

Keywords: psychological scales; psychological measurement; fit assessment; bifactor models; structural equation models; nested model comparison

$8,000

Model selection for psychological scales

Principal investigatorSSHRC2023Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Savalei, Victoria

Keywords: psychological scales; psychological measurement; fit assessment; bifactor models; structural equation models; nested model comparison

$52,956

Improving Fit Assessment and Incomplete Data Diagnostics in Structural Equation Modeling

Principal investigatorNSERC2021Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Savalei, Victoria

Keywords: statistical analysis with missing data; structural equation modeling; mean and covariance structure models; psychometrics; confirmatory factor analysis; incomplete data

$72,000

Improving measures of self-report

Principal investigatorSSHRC2019Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Savalei, Victoria

Keywords: psychological scales; response bias; item format; likert format; confirmatory factor analysis; method effects

$80,800

Do Scientists' Gender and Status Shape the Results of Bayesian Data Analyses?

Principal investigatorSSHRC2016Insight Development Grant

Principal investigators: Savalei, Victoria

Keywords: (1) statistical cognition; (2) gender differences; (3) status differences; (4) Bayes Factors; (5) teaching statistics; (6) hypothesis testing

$49,400

Two-stage methodology for regression, path analysis, and structural equation models with item-level missingness

Principal investigatorNSERC2015Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Savalei, Victoria

$70,000

Parents as Friendship Coaches for Children with ADHD

Co-investigatorCIHR2012Operating Grant

Principal investigators: Mikami, Amori Y; Normand, Sébastien

Keywords: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder; Peer Relationships

$883,574

Understanding participant responses to reverse-coded items in personality surveys

Principal investigatorSSHRC2011

Principal investigators: Savalei, Victoria

Keywords: reverse coded items; method effects; acquiescence bias

$65,500

The structure and nature of informant reports of personality

Principal investigatorSSHRC2010Standard Research Grants

Principal investigators: Savalei, Victoria

Keywords: structure of personality; multitrait multimethod models

$33,250

Making electoral democracy work: voters, parties, and the rules of the game

Co-investigatorSSHRC2009Major Collaborative Research Initiatives Program

Principal investigators: Blais, André

Keywords: electoral systems; voting; political parties; party system; electoral reform

$2,500,000

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Psychometrics
Other

Co-authors at University of British Columbia, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Xijuan Zhang

Psychometrics

2 shared papers, latest 2026

Elizabeth Dunn

Faculty

1 shared papers, latest 2015

Write to this professor

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Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their SSHRC grant from 2023

Subject: Prospective PhD student Dear Professor Savalei, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Calculating and Interpreting Maximal Reliability in Bifactor Models." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your SSHRC-funded project "Model selection for psychological scales" (2023), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]