title: Things aren't as bad as they seem: a comment on Storms et al. (2003).
abstract: G. Storms, T. Dirikx, J. Saerens, S. Verstraeten, and P. P. De Deyn (2003) criticized the use of scaling techniques, in proposing "semantic storage deficits" in Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenic patients in some studies, arguing that most reported multidimensionalscaling (MDS) models for patients were not adequately fit and did not differ from models generated by random data. The studies cited by G. Storms et al. were reexamined and all available data relevant to their claim were compared. A more complete review revealed somewhat different conclusions; it showed that many of the MDS models seem to meet the criteria of adequate fit, and it does not seem to support the notion that patients' performance is close to random. Suggestions are made to improve the validity of scaling analysis in neuropsychological studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT. aschan@psy.cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: Agnes S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Yim-chi
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Ho
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012660:Semantics