The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) raises a number of important issues that are inherent in all attempts to make comparisons of cognitive and behavioural attributes across countries. This article discusses both the statistical and interpretational problems. A detailed analysis of the survey instruments is carried out to demonstrate the cultural speci city involved. The data modelling techniques used in IALS are critiqued and alternative analyses performed. The article argues for extreme caution in interpreting results in the light of the weaknesses of the survey.
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Blum et al. (2001) studied this question.
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