Barbara Byrne

Title: The Methodological Face of Cross-cultural Research: Challenges and Caveats

Barbara M. Byrne (Ph.D., 1982) is Professor Emeritus in the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa, Canada. Substantively, her research focuses on construct validation issues related to the structure and measurement of self-concept, burnout, and depression. Methodologically, her research centres on the sound application of structural equation modeling (SEM) in the validation of measuring instruments and psychological constructs. Byrne is an internationally recognized expert in the area of SEM, particularly as it relates to tests for invariance across mono- and multi-cultural populations. She has conducted close to 75 SEM workshops at conferences, universities, and test publishers around the globe and is the author of five popular introductory books on the topic, the most recent of these being Structural Equation Modeling with EQS: Basic Concepts, Applications, and Programming (Second Edition; 2006). In addition to the publication of 85 book chapters and scholarly journal articles, most of which have addressed SEM application issues, Byrne is the author of an important reference book related to self-concept measurement, Measuring Self-concept Across the Lifespan: Issues and Instrumentation. She is the recipient of three Distinguished Teaching Awards presented by the Canadian Psychological Association (1995), the American Psychological Association (APA; 2002), and the APA, Division 5 (Jacob Cohen Award; 2002). Byrne is a Fellow in two APA Divisions: Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics (Division 5) and International Psychology (Division 52), is a Foundation member on the International Board of the SELF Research Centre, University of Western Sydney, Australia, and is an elected member of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology. She has served on both the Continuing Professional Education and Psychological Tests and Assessment Committees of the APA, and served as the APA representative on the Joint Committee for Testing Practices, as well as on the Executive Council of the International Test Commission (ITC), served as Chair of the Membership and Workshop Committees of the APA, and served as Newsletter editor for the ITC. Byrne currently is the Treasurer for both the ITC and APA Division 5, a position which she has held for the past 9 and 6 years, respectively.