arbiter
JournalsAccount

Generalized Cohen’s d for Multiple Means and Polytomous Settings

Jari Metsämuuronen

Applied Psychological Measurement2026https://doi.org/10.1177/01466216261416025article
AJG 2ABDC B
Weight
0.50

Abstract

Cohen's d is the most commonly used estimator to quantify the magnitude of the difference between the means of two subpopulations. When comparing multiple populations simultaneously, Cohen's f can be used for the same purpose. Using their relationship in the dichotomous setting, several general formulas for d are derived that generalize d to the polytomous setting. The traditional simplified estimator d = 2f is studied as a shortcut estimator. It is strongly recommended to use the general formulas instead of the simplified ones when assessing the magnitude of the effect size, especially when the discrepancy of the extreme proportions of cases in the subpopulations exceeds 0.40.

Open via your library →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/01466216261416025

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{jari2026,
  title        = {{Generalized Cohen’s d for Multiple Means and Polytomous Settings}},
  author       = {Jari Metsämuuronen},
  journal      = {Applied Psychological Measurement},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/01466216261416025},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Generalized Cohen’s d for Multiple Means and Polytomous Settings

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.