This book helps readers apply testing and measurement theories. Featuring 22 self-standing modules, instructors can pick and choose the ones that are most appropriate for their course. Each module features an overview of a measurement issue and a step-by-step application of that theory. Best practices provide recommendations for ensuring the appropriate application of the theory. Practical questions help students assess their understanding of the topic while the examples allow them to apply the material using real data. Two cases in each module depict typical dilemmas faced when applying measurement theory followed by Questions to Ponder to encourage critical examination of the issues noted in the cases. Each module contains exercises some of which require no computer access while others involve the use of SPSS to solve the problem. The book’s website houses the accompanying data sets and more. The book also features suggested readings, a glossary of the key terms, and a continuing exercise that incorporates many of the steps in the development of a measure of typical performance. Updated throughout to reflect recent changes in the field, the new edition also features: --A new co-author, Michael Zickar, who updated the advanced topics and added the new module on generalizability theory (Module 22). -Expanded coverage of reliability (Modules 5 & 6) and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (Modules 18 & 19) to help readers interpret results presented in journal articles. -Expanded Web Resources, Instructors will now find: suggested answers to the book’s questions and exercises; detailed worked solutions to the exercises; and PowerPoint slides. Students and instructors can access the SPSS data sets; additional exercises; the glossary; and website references that are helpful in understanding psychometric concepts. Part 1 provides an introduction to measurement theory and specs for scaling and testing and a review of statistics. Part 2 then progresses through practical issues related to text reliability, validation, meta-analysis and bias. Part 3 reviews practical issues related to text construction such as the development of measures of maximal performance, CTT item analysis, test scoring, developing measures of typical performance, and issues related to response styles and guessing. The book concludes with advanced topics such as multiple regression, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, item response theory (IRT), IRT applications including computer adaptive testing and differential item functioning, and generalizability theory. Ideal as a text for any psychometrics, testing and measurement, or multivariate statistics course taught in psychology, education, marketing and management, professional researchers in need of a quick refresher on applying measurement theory will also find this an invaluable reference.

Measurement Theory in Action, Third Edition, helps readers apply testing and measurement theories and features 22 self-contained modules which instructors can match to their courses. Each module features an overview of a measurement issue and a step-by-step application of that theory. Best Practices provide recommendations for ensuring the appropriate application of the theory. Practical Questions help students assess their understanding of the topic. Students can apply the material using real data in the Exercises, some of which require no computer access, while others involve the use of statistical software to solve the problem. Case Studies in each module depict typical dilemmas faced when applying measurement theory followed by Questions to Ponder to encourage critical examination of the issues noted in the cases. The book’s website houses the data sets, additional exercises, PowerPoints, and more. Other features include suggested readings to further one’s understanding of the topics, a glossary, and a comprehensive exercise in Appendix A that incorporates many of the steps in the development of a measure of typical performance. Updated throughout to reflect recent changes in the field, the new edition also features: Recent changes in understanding measurement, with over 50 new and updated references Explanations of why each chapter, article, or book in each module’s Further Readings section is recommended Instructors will find suggested answers to the book’s questions and exercises; detailed solutions to the exercises; test bank with 10 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions for each module; and PowerPoint slides. Students and instructors can access SPSS data sets; additional exercises; the glossary; and additional information helpful in understanding psychometric concepts. It is ideal as a text for any psychometrics or testing and measurement course taught in psychology, education, marketing, and management. It is also an invaluable reference for professional researchers in need of a quick refresher on applying measurement theory.

Introduction to Measurement Theory bridges the gap between texts that offer a mathematically rigorous treatment of the statistical properties of measurement and ones that discuss the topic in a basic, cookbook fashion. Without overwhelming novices or boring the more mathematically sophisticated, the authors effectively cover the construction of psychological tests and the interpretation of test scores and scales; critically examine classical true-score theory; and explain theoretical assumptions and modern measurement models, controversies, and developments. Practical applications, examples, and study questions facilitate a better understanding of the uses and limitations of common measures of test reliability and validity and how to perform the basic item analysis necessary for test construction.

Recent experimental advances in the control of quantum superconducting circuits, nano-mechanical resonators and photonic crystals has meant that quantum measurement theory is now an indispensable part of the modelling and design of experimental technologies. This book, aimed at graduate students and researchers in physics, gives a thorough introduction to the basic theory of quantum measurement and many of its important modern applications. Measurement and control is explicitly treated in superconducting circuits and optical and opto-mechanical systems, and methods for deriving the Hamiltonians of superconducting circuits are introduced in detail. Further applications covered include feedback control, metrology, open systems and thermal environments, Maxwell's demon, and the quantum-to-classical transition.

Which types of validity evidence should be considered when determining whether a scale is appropriate for a given measurement situation? What about reliability evidence? Using clear explanations illustrated by examples from across the social and behavioral sciences, this engaging text prepares students to make effective decisions about the selection, administration, scoring, interpretation, and development of measurement instruments. Coverage includes the essential measurement topics of scale development, item writing and analysis, and reliability and validity, as well as more advanced topics such as exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, item response theory, diagnostic classification models, test bias and fairness, standard setting, and equating. End-of-chapter exercises (with answers) emphasize both computations and conceptual understanding to encourage readers to think critically about the material. ÿ

We live in a world of measurements. Measurements, be they of length, speed, weight, temperature, intelligence, income, endurance, greed, gross domestic product, quality of life, unemployment or skill at a job, are all numerical manifestations of the extent of some underlying attribute. They reflect the reality around us – length and weight provide examples of systems that represent clear physical attributes. At the same time, measurements also define the reality around us – psychometric tests and price inflation constitute both the definitions and the procedures for measuring these concepts. Altogether, measurements are central to our modern world and our view of it. This book explores the nature of measurement, investigating its different kinds, how these kinds should be interpreted, and the legitimacy of their statistical manipulation. The procedures through which numbers are assigned to objects are described, and measurement in psychology, medicine, the physical sciences, and the social sciences are examined in detail. The ideas of measurement are so ubiquitous that we often fail to notice them; they are concealed behind a veil of familiarity. This book lifts the corner of that veil and, in doing so, shows that there are aspects of the familiar world that are occasionally puzzling, sometimes downright extraordinary, and often more intriguing than is generally believed.

Measurement in human services means one thing: how well the effort serves clients. But the data doesn’t exist in a vacuum and must be communicated clearly between provider and client, provider and management, and across systems. During the past decade, innovative communimetric measures have helped more than 50,000 professionals worldwide in health care, justice, and business settings deliver findings that enhance communication on all sides. Now, the theory and methods behind this fast-paced innovation are available in this informative volume. Communimetrics presents information in an accessible style, and its model of measurement as communication bolsters transparency and ease of interpretation without sacrificing validity or reliability. It conveys a deep appreciation for the unique position of service delivery systems at the intersection between science and management (and between quality and quantity), and shows readers how to create measures that can be used immediately to translate findings into practical action. This must-have volume offers readers the tools for understanding—and applying—this cutting-edge innovation by providing: The theoretical base for communimetrics. Practical illustrations comparing communimetrics with traditional methods. Guidelines for designing communimetric measures and evaluating their reliability and validity. Detailed examples of three widely used communimetric measures—the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS), the INTERMED, and the Entrepreneurial League System Assessment as well as detailed explanations for how they are used and why they work. Applications used in a range of settings, including children’s services, adult mental health, services for the aging, and business and organizational development. Communimetrics provides a wealth of real-world uses to a wide professional audience, including program evaluators, quality management professionals, enterprise managers, teachers of field research methods, and professionals involved in measurement and management design. It also makes an exceptionally useful text for program evaluation courses.