CAVEATS ON A PROCESS-TRACING MEASURE AND A REMEDY

In process-tracing studies, a frequently used index describes whether information selection behavior is attribute - or alternativewise. The performance of this index is investigated under the assumption that su bjects select information in a random fashion. The results show that t he index may lead to inaccurate conclusions regarding the information- acquisition strategy of a subject. In addition, a Monte Carlo study is conducted that examines the sensitivity of the index to strategy chan ges. An alternative index is derived and a latent-class model is propo sed for a parsimonious representation of individual differences in inf ormation acquisition.