Psychometric Methods: Theory into Practice PDF
Preview Psychometric Methods: Theory into Practice
ebook THE GUILFORD PRESS Psychometric Methods Guilford_Psychometric Methods_FM.indd i Manila Typesetting Company 10/07/2016 09:40AM Methodology in the Social Sciences David A. Kenny, Founding Editor Todd D. Little, Series Editor www.guilford.com/MSS This series provides applied researchers and students with analysis and research design books that emphasize the use of methods to answer research questions. Rather than emphasizing statistical theory, each volume in the series illustrates when a technique should (and should not) be used and how the output from available software programs should (and should not) be interpreted. Common pitfalls as well as areas of further development are clearly articulated. RECENT VOLUMES DOING STATISTICAL MEDIATION AND MODERATION Paul E. Jose LONGITUDINAL STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING Todd D. Little INTRODUCTION TO MEDIATION, MODERATION, AND CONDITIONAL PROCESS ANALYSIS: A REGRESSION-BASED APPROACH Andrew F. Hayes BAYESIAN STATISTICS FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES David Kaplan CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS FOR APPLIED RESEARCH, SECOND EDITION Timothy A. Brown PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING, FOURTH EDITION Rex B. Kline HYPOTHESIS TESTING AND MODEL SELECTION IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES David L. Weakliem REGRESSION ANALYSIS AND LINEAR MODELS: CONCEPTS, APPLICATIONS, AND IMPLEMENTATION Richard B. Darlington and Andrew F. Hayes GROWTH MODELING: STRUCTURAL EQUATION AND MULTILEVEL MODELING APPROACHES Kevin J. Grimm, Nilam Ram, and Ryne Estabrook PSYCHOMETRIC METHODS: THEORY INTO PRACTICE Larry R. Price Guilford_Psychometric Methods_FM.indd ii Manila Typesetting Company 10/07/2016 09:40AM Psychometric Methods Theory into Practice Larry R. Price Series Editor’s Note by Todd D. Little THE GUILFORD PRESS New York London Guilford_Psychometric Methods_FM.indd iii Manila Typesetting Company 10/07/2016 09:40AM Copyright © 2017 The Guilford Press A Division of Guilford Publications, Inc. 370 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1200, New York, NY 10001 www.guilford.com All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America This book is printed on acid-free paper. Last digit is print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Price, Larry R., author. Title: Psychometric methods : theory into practice / Larry R. Price. Description: New York : The Guilford Press, [2017] | Series: Methodology in the social sciences | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016013346 | ISBN 9781462524778 (hardback) Subjects: LCSH: Psychometrics. | BISAC: SOCIAL SCIENCE / Research. | MEDICAL / Nursing / Research & Theory. | PSYCHOLOGY / Assessment, Testing & Measurement. | EDUCATION / Testing & Measurement. | BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Statistics. Classification: LCC BF39 .P685 2016 | DDC 150.1/5195—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016013346 To my parents, wife, and former students Series Editor’s Note The term psychometrics has an almost mystical aura about it. Larry Price brings his vast acumen as well as his kind and gentle persona to demystify for you the world of psycho- metrics. Psychometrics is not just a province of psychology. In fact, the theory-to-practice orientation that Larry brings to his book makes it clear how widely applicable the fun- damental principles are across the gamut of disciplines in the social sciences. Because psychometrics is foundationally intertwined with the measurement of intelligence, Larry uses this model to convey psychometric principles for applied uses. Generalizing these principles to your domain of application is extremely simple because they are presented as principles, and not rules that are tied to a domain of inquiry. Psychometrics is an encompassing field that spans the research spectrum from inspi- ration to dissemination. At the inspiration phase, psychometrics covers the operational characteristics of measurement, assessment, and evaluation. E. L. Thorndike (1918) once stated, “Whatever exists at all exists in some amount. To know it thoroughly involves knowing its quantity as well as its quality.” I interpret this statement as a callout to mea- surement experts: Using the underlying principles of psychometrics, “figure out how to measure it!” If it exists at all, it can be measured, and it is up to us, as principled psy- chometricians, to divine a way to measure anything that exists. Larry’s book provides an accessible presentation of all the tools at your disposal to figure out how to measure anything that your research demands. Thorndike’s contemporary, E. G. Boring (1923) once quipped, “Intelligence is what the tests test.” Both Thorndike’s and Boring’s famous truisms have psychometrics at the core of their intent. Boring’s remarks move us more from the basics of measurement to the process of validation, a key domain of psychometrics. I have lost count of the many different kinds of validities that have been introduced, but fortunately, Larry’s book enu- merates the important ones and gives you the basis to understand what folks mean when they use the word validity in any phase of the research process. vii Guilford_Psychometric Methods_FM.indd vii Manila Typesetting Company 10/21/2015 9:22AM viii Series Editor’s Note Being a good psychometrician is a form of recession-proof job security. The demand for well-trained psychometricians is higher now than at any time in history. Accountabil- ity standards, evidence-based practice initiatives, and the like require that new measures for assessment and evaluation be developed, and they require that many of the “standard” measurement tools be revamped and brought up to the standards of modern measure- ment principles. Larry Price’s book provides you with all of the necessary tools to become a great psychometrician. As always, “enjoy!” Todd D. Little On the road in Corvallis, Oregon REfERENCES Boring, E. G. (1923). Intelligence as the tests test it. New Republic, 36, 35–37. Thorndike, E. L. (1918). The nature, purposes, and general methods of measurement of educa- tional products. In S. A. Courtis (Ed.), The measurement of educational products (17th Year- book of the National Society for the Study of Education, Pt. 2, pp. 16–24). Bloomington, IL: Public School. Guilford_Psychometric Methods_FM.indd viii Manila Typesetting Company 10/07/2016 09:40AM
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