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Regular version of the site

Methodology of Measurеment in Psychology and Education

2024/2025
Academic Year
ENG
Instruction in English
3
ECTS credits
Delivered at:
Department of Educational Programmes
Course type:
Compulsory course
When:
1 year, 1 module

Instructor

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course provides students with the basic concepts of psychological and educational measurement: theories of measurement, test and item development, reliability and validity. The course starts with a historical review of the development of measurement in psychology and shows how the basic concepts changed over time. The most important issues of these concepts are discussed. The students will learn the main steps they need to go through in order to design a test or questionnaire and to ensure their psychometric quality. The guidance we use is aligned with the latest editions of the Educational measurement and the Standards of psychological measurement by APA and NCME. During the course the students will apply their theoretical knowledge to the development of their own questionnaire. The students will learn what such item chatecteristics as difficulty and discrimination are, how to calculate them, and how to deal with errors of measurement. We will dedicate a significant amount of time to the interpretation of test scores. The social consequences of standardized testing will also be discussed. The students have to be ready for extensive reading of texts on general methodological issues of measurement in social science as well as for group work and discussion.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • Understand the theory of quantitative psychology and psychometrics Interpret fundamental concepts (e.g. measurement, validity, scales) and its' criticism Design, conduct, analyze, interpret and report Classical Test Theory analyses Understand fundamentals of Generalizability Theory Communicate research findings effectively Ensure social justice in testing and assessment
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • A student knows the history of the discipline and subfields
  • Student aware of advantages and limitations of quantitative psychology
  • Students can correctly apply key terminology of the field.
  • Students meet basic issues of quantitative psychometrics and learn how to avoid (if possible) the issues in their real practice.
  • Students master how to create operationalization of a latent construct
  • Students face the issue of "arbitrary metrics" and will learn how to avoid the problem in their practice.
  • Students can appropriately use basic validity terms.
  • Students will enable to plan their own validity studies (criterion validity, content validity)
  • Students face the controversial framework of the validity concept and will be able to build well-grounded validity desing
  • Students will be able to critically consider basic assumptions in psychological measurement.
  • Students master how to design, conduct, analyze, interpret and report Classical Test Theory analyses
  • Students will capable to interpret basics of CTT
  • Students aware of g-theory as one of basic psychometric approaches.
  • Students capable to apply g-theory in thier own research
  • Students communicate research findings effectively
  • Students ensure equity and social justice in testing and assessment
  • Students capable to design the feedback to the respondents in their own research
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • History of quantitative psychology. The role of quantitative psychology in human decision making
  • Psychological constructs and operational definitions
  • Operationalization Issues and Arbitrary Metrics
  • Validity concept (1). Criterion and content validity.
  • Validity concept (2) Construct validity. ​Modern approaches to validity
  • Scales of Measurement and the Criticism of the Concept.
  • Introduction to Classical Test Theory. Reliability estimates in CTT. Item analysis.
  • Introduction to Generalizability theory
  • Interpreting Test Results
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Individual and group homework
    Two home task we be group projects (you will operationalize a construct on your choice and prepare a CTT report) and one home task will be individual (an essay, describing a good test validization design, based on an article you find).
  • non-blocking Final exam
    Your final test will consist of MC and open-ended questions and will cover all the main topics of the discipline.
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • 2024/2025 1st module
    0.4 * Final exam + 0.6 * Individual and group homework
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Archuleta, K. (2009). Evidence of Construct-Related Validity for Assessment Centers: More Pieces of the Inferential Pie. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsndl&AN=edsndl.oai.union.ndltd.org.tamu.edu.oai.repository.tamu.edu.1969.1.ETD-TAMU-2009-05-579
  • Coulacoglou, C., & Saklofske, D. H. (2017). Psychometrics and Psychological Assessment : Principles and Applications. London: Academic Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1169380
  • Epskamp, S., Maris, G. K. J., Waldorp, L. J., & Borsboom, D. (2016). Network Psychometrics.
  • Gary L. Canivez, Timothy R. Konold, Jason M. Collins, & Greg Wilson. (n.d.). Construct Validity of the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence and Wide Range Intelligence Test: Convergent and Structural Validity.
  • Helena Espirito Santo. (2017). Editorial: Validity in assessment instruments. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.D179CC42
  • Introduction to classical and modern test theory, Crocker, L., 2008
  • James, A., Algina, J., & Swaminathan, H. (2015). Psychometrics: Classical Test Theory. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.7E3F0482
  • Joel Michell. (2000). Normal science, pathological science and psychometrics. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.858D34B6
  • Kane, M. (2000). Current Concerns in Validity Theory. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=ED446094
  • Keith A. Markus, & Denny Borsboom. (2013). Frontiers of Test Validity Theory : Measurement, Causation, and Meaning. Routledge.
  • Kline, P. (2014). The New Psychometrics : Science, Psychology and Measurement. Hoboken: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=687083
  • Leary, M., Kelly, K., Cottrell, C., & Schreindorfer, L. (2013). Construct Validity of the Need to Belong Scale: Mapping the Nomological Network. Journal of Personality Assessment, 95(6), 610–624. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2013.819511
  • Measurement and evaluation in psychology and education, Thorndike, R. M., 2010
  • Nako, Z., & Barnard, A. (2012). Construct validity of competency dimensions in a leadership assessment and development centre. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.F9B61AE3
  • Prabhaker Mishra, C M Pandey, Uttam Singh, & Anshul Gupta. (2018). Scales of measurement and presentation of statistical data. Annals of Cardiac Anaesthesia, (4), 419. https://doi.org/10.4103/aca.ACA_131_18
  • Ronald K. Hambleton, & Russell W. Jones. (n.d.). ========================= = ITEMS. Instructional Topics in Educational Measurement ========================= An NCME Instructional Module on Comparison of Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory and Their Applications to Test Development. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.46F2C9F0
  • Stephen N. Haynes, David C. S. Richard, & Edward S. Kubany. (1995). Content validity in psychological assessment: A functional approach to concepts and methods. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.E05795A1
  • Wallis, T. (2004). Psychological tests are not really measuring what they claim to measure: A re-evaluation of the concept of construct validity. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.F42F5769
  • Психологическое измерение : учеб. пособие для вузов, Тюменева, Ю. А., 2007
  • Психологическое тестирование, Анастази, А., 2002
  • Психологическое тестирование, Анастази, А., 2003
  • Психологическое тестирование, Анастази, А., 2007

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Measurement and evaluation in psychology and education, Thorndike, R. M., 2014
  • Rust, J., & Golombok, S. (2014). Modern Psychometrics : The Science of Psychological Assessment (Vol. 3rd ed). London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=812538

Authors

  • Antipkina Inna Veniaminovna