Identification of variables contributing to group differences in descriptive discriminant analysis

Abstract

The identification of predictor variables that meaningfully contribute to group differences in Descriptive Discriminant Analysis (DDA) has had conflicting guidance in the historical quantitative psychological literature. Early simulation results that tested the bias and power of the standardized coefficients and the structural coefficients were ambiguous, yet a consensus still emerged that the structural coefficients were preferred. This study reviews the historical debate and known statistical weaknesses of both standardized coefficients and structure coefficients, summarizes relevant research and proposes a Monte Carlo study that will test whether the inclusion of standardized coefficients in interpreting DDA results for both the two-group and three-group cases can assist applied researchers in meaningfully ranking variables contributing to group differences.