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Psych 80103                                                                         Professor T. Revenson
Spring 2006                                                                                              3 credits

PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT:
THEORY, CRITICAL ISSUES, AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

All validity is one, and all is construct validity.
-Lee Cronbach, 1954

To be conscious that you are ignorant of the facts is a great step to knowledge.
--Benjamin Disraeli

Standardized measures are used across all areas of psychological research and across different data collection methodologies. How do you measure what you want to measure in a reliable and valid manner? When do you develop your own measure, pull one down off the shelf, or adapt an existing measure?

This advanced methods course will provide an intensive consideration of the basic psychometric concepts of reliability and validity as they relate to the construction of psychological scales. Students will develop the fundamental skills necessary to construct a new psychological measure as well as the skills to evaluate existing measures.  The course is not a statistics course, although students will be expected to understand and use the logical underpinnings of quantitative analysis.

COURSE FORMAT AND REQUIREMENTS

The course is divided into two parts. The first half focuses on measurement theories and the basics of scale construction; this section will be conducted primarily in lecture format. The second half is “hands-on”, where students will analyze the psychometric properties of a measure.  Much of the material is difficult, and students who do not keep up with the readings will gain little from the course. A midterm exam (short essay questions), an oral presentation of your statistical findings, and written documentation of your measure are required. The midterm examination will count for 50% of your grade. The oral presentations will count for 25% and the written report (scale documentation) for 25%.There may also be homework assignments and/or pop quizzes if the need arises. 

PREREQUISITES: Successful completion of U705 and U706 or their equivalent, and one year of quantitative or experimental methods/research design.

REQUIRED COURSE BOOKS

Ghiselli, E. E., Campbell, J.P., & Zedeck, S. (1981). Measurement Theory for the Behavioral Sciences. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman.   BF39.G49

DeVellis, R.F. (2002). Scale development: Theory and applications, 2nd edition.  [Applied Social Research Methods Series, volume 26]. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Other readings will be available on Blackboard.   

ASSIGNMENT DATES

Campbell, D.T., & Fiske, D.W. (1959).  Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait -- multimethod matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 56, 81-105

Peck, J.R., Smith, T.W. Ward, J.R., & Milano, R. (1989).  Disability and depression in rheumatoid arthritis: A multi-trait, multi-method investigation. Arthritis and Rheumatism, 32, 1100-1106.

Smith, G.T. (2005).  On construct validity: Issues of method and measurement. Psychological Assessment, 17, 396-408.

Borsboom, D., &  Mellenbergh, G.J. (2004).  The concept of validity. Psychological Review, 111, 1061–1071.

DeVellis: Chapter 5

Burish, M. (1984). Approaches to personality inventory construction: A comparison of merits. American Psychologist, 39 (3), 214-227.
         
Ferketich, S. (1991). Aspects of item analysis. Research in Nursing & Health, 14, 165-168.

March 8                FACTOR ANALYSIS

DeVellis: Chapter 6, 7

Reise, S.P., Waller, N.G., & Comrey, A.L. (2000).  Factor analysis and scale revision. Psychological Assessment, 12, 287-297.

March 15              IN PURSUIT OF CULTURALLY ANCHORED MEASUREMENT

Hughes, D.L. & Seidman, E. (2002). In pursuit of a culturally anchored methodology. In T.A. Revenson, A.R. D’Augelli, S.E. French, D.L. Hughes, D. Livert, E. Seidman, M. Shinn, & H. Yoshikawa (Eds.), Ecological research to promote social change (pp. 243-255). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

Knight, G.P., Virdin, L.M., Ocampo, K.A., & Roosa, M. (1994).  An examination of the cross-ethnic equivalence of measures of negative life events and mental health among Hispanic and Anglo-American children. American Journal of Community Psychology, 22, 767-783.

Mitchell, C.M., & Beals, J. (1997).  The structure of problem and positive behavior among American Indian adolescents: Gender and community differences. American Journal of Community Psychology, 25, 257-288.  Reprinted in T.A. Revenson, A.R. D’Augelli, S.E. French, D.L. Hughes, D. Livert, E. Seidman, M. Shinn, & H. Yoshikawa (Eds.), (2002) Ecological Research to Promote Social Change (pp. 291-321). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

Rogler, L.H. (1999).  Metholodological Sources of Cultural Insensitivity in mental health research. American Psychologist, 54, 424-433.