About the Book

Focusing on the conceptual understanding of psychometric issues such as validity and reliability this textbook introduces psychometric principles at a level that goes into more detail than introductory undergraduate texts, yet also more intuitive than more technical publications intended for postgraduate level.

By emphasizing conceptual development and practical significance over mathematical proofs, this book assists students in appreciating how measurement problems can be addressed and why it is important to address them.

Table of Contents:
1. Psychometrics and the Importance of Psychological Measurement Observable Behavior and Unobservable Attributes Psychological Tests: Definition and Types Psychometrics Challenges to Measurement in Psychology Theme: The Importance of Individual Differences 2. Scaling Fundamental Issues and Numbers Units of Measurement Additivity and Counting Four Scales of Measurement Summary Suggested Readings 3. Individual Differences and Correlations The Nature of Variability Importance of Individual Differences Variability and Distribution of Scores Distribution Shapes and Normal Distributions Quantifying the Association Between Distributions Variance of “Composite Scores” Interpreting Test Scores Test Norms Summary Suggested Readings 4. Test Dimensionality and Factor Analysis Test Dimensionality Factor Analysis: Examining the Dimensionality of a Test Summary Suggested Readings 5. Reliability: Conceptual Basis Overview of Reliability and Classical Test Theory Observed Scores, True Scores and Measurement Error Variances in Observed Scores, True Scores and Error Scores Four Ways to Think of Reliability Reliability and the Standard Error of Measurement Parallel Tests Summary 6. Empirical Estimates of Reliability Alternate Forms Reliability Test-Retest Reliability Internal Consistency Reliability Factors Affecting the Reliability of Test Scores Sample Homogeneity and Reliability Generalization Reliability of Difference Scores Summary 7. Importance of Reliability Behavioral Research Applied Behavioral Practice: Evaluation of an Individual’s Test Score Test Construction and Refinement Summary Suggested Readings 8. Validity: The Conceptual Basis What is Validity? Validity Evidence: Test Content Validity Evidence: Internal Structure of the Test Validity Evidence: Response Processes Validity Evidence: Associations with Other Variables Validity Evidence: Consequences of Testing Other Perspectives on Validity Contrasting Reliability and Validity The Importance of Validity Summary Suggested Readings 9. Validity: Estimating and Evaluating Convergent and Discriminant Validity Methods for Evaluating Convergent and Discriminant Validity Factors Affecting a Validity Coefficient Interpreting a Validity Coefficient Summary Suggested Readings 10. Response Biases Types of Response Biases Methods for Coping with Response Biases Response Biases, Response Sets, and Response Styles Summary Suggested Readings 11. Test Bias Why Worry about Test Score Bias Detecting Construct Bias: Internal Evaluation of a Test Detecting Predictive Bias: External Evaluation of a Test Summary Suggested Readings 12. Generalizability Theory Multiple Facets of Measurement Generalizability and Variance Components G Studies and D Studies Conducting and Interpreting Generalizability Theory Analysis: A One-facet Design Conducting and Interpreting Generalizability Theory Analysis: A Two-facet Design Other Measurement Designs Summary Footnote Suggested Readings 13. Item Response Theory and Rasch Models Basics of IRT IRT Measurement Models An Example of IRT: A Rasch Model Item and Test Information Applications of IRT Summary Suggested Readings