Introduction to Test Construction in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: A Practical GuideThis book offers beginning researchers in psychology and education with limited statistics backgrounds a practical, hands-on guide to the preparation, assessment, and development of quantitative research instruments. With the explicit goal in mind of making the text accessible to readers with only a beginning level of statistical expertise, the authors include numerous examples and figures to illustrate necessary concepts and procedures, while minimizing jargon. The book includes an appendix with directions for the required statistical analyses for readers with access to SPSS. The organization of the book into two sections, theoretical and practical, with complementary chapters in each section, results in a practical and versatile resource to have in a variety of contexts. Because of its versatility, the book may be used either as a textbook for courses on test construction and instrument design or quantitative research methods in psychology and education, as a reference for researchers using and constructing quantitative instruments, or as background reading for professionals in related fields. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Theoretical Topics | 9 |
What Are Tests for Research Purposes? | 11 |
The End Goal as a First Consideration | 19 |
Instrument Reliability | 25 |
Instrument Validity | 35 |
Item Analysis | 51 |
Sociopsychological Scales | 69 |
Analyzing Version 1 Item Statistics and Instrument Reliability | 105 |
Analyzing Version 2 Item Statistics Instrument Reliability and Validity | 115 |
Semiformal Measurement Varieties of Content Analysis | 127 |
What Next? Back to the Future | 135 |
Recommended Readings | 141 |
Instructions for Performing Necessary Statistical Procedures in SPSS | 143 |
Sample Data Set of Items and Scores for SelfEsteem Scale Version 1 | |
References | |
Empirical Topics | 77 |
Designing Your Instrument Componentiality and Item Type | 81 |
Preparation and Preliminary Testing of the First Version | 91 |
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Common terms and phrases
answer approach assess attitudes behavioral chapter components concerned construct validity construction for research constructors content analysis correlation coefficient criterial direction criterion validity Cronbach's alpha demographic developing dichotomous dimension discussion distribution Drop dry run error variance evaluation external criterion external validity factor analysis formal measurement groups Guttman scales incremental validity individual items instru Instrument Reliability interitem consistency item analysis Item Difficulty Scores item discriminability Item Item Item Item Statistics item's Keep level of measurement Likert scales Linear Regression Martin's Item mean Medical Coping Index Medical Coping Instrument multiple obtain particular Pearsonian Perry's phenomenon possible predict predictor procedures question Questionnaire reader real thing regression research pur research purposes researcher's response options sample semiformal measurement Set of Items social SPSS stepwise regression subdimension subjects test construction test items test scores test's tests for research theoretical Thurstone scales tion total score variables Version 2 MCI-2 weight yield
References to this book
Applying Social Psychology: From Problems to Solutions Abraham P Buunk,Mark Van Vugt Limited preview - 2007 |