Re: imputing missing likert-type values

Posted by Bruce Weaver on Jul 09, 2015; 9:27pm
URL: http://spssx-discussion.165.s1.nabble.com/imputing-missing-likert-type-values-tp5730100p5730102.html

You appear to be suggesting that multiple imputation can only be used for normally distributed variables.  That is not correct.  The Command Syntax reference manual entry for MULTIPLE IMPUTATION says this (under SCALEMODEL Keyword):

"By default, the type of univariate model that is used [to impute values where data are missing] depends on the measurement level of the variable whose missing values are to be imputed.  Multinomial logistic regression is always used for categorical variables."  

HTH.

ziweiguan wrote

My questionnaire was designed based on some "latent factors", that each "latent factor" has
a number of questions (items). The answers to the questions are likert-type scales (1 to 6, strong disagree to strong agree). In the end, there are  <2% values missing. Because the likert-type scales are ordinal variables, and has no normal distribution feature, so I feel multiple imputation will not work well.

I am thinking to use the object's median values from those similar questions within the same "latent factor" to replace the missing values of that object. This makes a lot of sense I think. Is there an option to do so?
In SPSS, it has "replace missing values with median of nearby points", which takes median of values above
or below from different objects. This is not what I want.

I have another idea, that I first do EFA, and then I can do SEM with AMOS. AMOS can do imputation too. Is this a good practice for missing data imputation?

Thank you very much