Chapter 6 - Test Construction
D
A good manual for a psychological test A- indicates to the unqualified potential user that they should not be using the test B- is comprehensible to the qualified test user C- is precise enough to satisfy measurement specialists D- all of the above
D
A trace line for an item relates A- the outline of the item to the specification of the construct B- the inverse of the strength of the trait to item frequency C- the proportion of items correct to the strength of the underlying trait D- the likelihood of endorsement of the item to the strength of the underlying trait
C
According to S S Stevens, which of the following is not a type of measurement? A- ordinal B- interval C- dichotomous D- nominal
B
Although it is useful to include norms for different groups from the population we need to bear in mind that A- increasing the number of groups decreases the overall sample size required B- increasing the number of groups increases the overall sample size required C- increasing the number of groups increases the overall standard deviation D- increasing the number of groups decreases the overall standard deviation
A
An important step in writing items for psychological tests is to A- pilot test the items with individuals similar to those for whom the test is being developed B- provide translations into other languages C- compare the content with existing psychological tests D- use item writers who are blind to the meaning of the construct being tested
A
Because 0°C does not represent the complete absence of heat, the Celsius scale cannot be considered A- a ratio scale B- a reliable scale C- a random scale D- a representative scale
B
If a person endorses a substantial number of items in the improbable direction (e.g.,'I have never told a lie in my life'), we might infer the person is A- a living saint B- trying to create a favourable impression of himself or herself C- a very truthful individual D- not paying attention
C
If p is the proportion of a sample endorsing a dichotomously scored item in the keyed direction and q is 1-p (i.e.,.the proportion endorsing the item in the opposite direction), then the standard deviation of scores on the item is A- p B- q C- pq D- pq
A
In conducting item analysis in test construction A- the procedure can be repeated with new samples of items until a satisfactory set has been found B- the procedure should be used once and once only so as not to capitalise on chance C- the procedure can only be repeated using the same set of items D- the procedure cannot be repeated with the same set of items
D
In norming a test we need to bear in mind A- how we ensure the sample is normally distributed B- how we ensure everyone in the sample is normal C- what we expect the average response to be D- how the test is to be used
B
In preparing a test for publication we need to spend a good deal of time on A- finding a publisher B- preparing a manual for the test user C- deciding on price D- selecting an attractive packaging
B
In studying the behaviour of items in a psychological test, one of the item statistics recommended by some experts is item reliability. This is A- the product of the item-total correlation and the variance of the item B- the product of the item-total correlation and the standard deviation of the item C- the product of the square roots of the item-total correlation and item variance D- the product of the item-total correlation and the square root of the item variance
A
In using Item Response Theory in practice A- item difficulty is often selected as the focus of interest B- the assumptions of the theory are ignored C- items of equal difficulty are sought D- items of intermediate difficulty are sought
A
Item Response Theory is a stricter model for test construction than classical true score theory in that it A- specifies the parameters of the trace line B- requires more of the items in the test to conform to the model C- uses a steeper trace line D- includes classical true score theory as a special case
A
Items with very high or very low endorsement frequencies generally are A- poor items B- good items C- reliable items D- valid items
D
Multiple choice tests provide more than two options for each question to overcome the problem of A- faking B- carelessness C- defensiveness D- guessing
B
Psychological tests A- conform to the highest possible form of measurement B- seldom achieve more than a statement about rank order in terms of the characteristic of interest C- provide for a true zero in terms of the characteristic D- invariably specify equal intervals on their measurement scales
A
Scalogram analysis implies that a person's position on a trait indicates A- whether they will get a test item right or wrong B- that they are more likely to get the item right than wrong C- that they are likely to get the item right or wrong but it is by no means certain D- that they will be unsure of the correct response
A
Systematic bias in a test can occur when A- people respond to non-essential features of items rather than to item content B- peoples' responses to items varies greatly from one administration of the items to the next C- some people do not sustain their attention when answering the items D- items are not easy to understand
C
Test construction A- is a linear process with one stage following the other without variation B- is a relatively inexpensive process C- follows a sequence of steps but these steps may need to be retraced from time to time D- can be done quite quickly using modern computers
A
The Mental Measurements Yearbook is A- a catalogue of test reviews B- a classification scheme for mental disorder C- an encyclopaedia of psychometrics D- a handbook of good practice in assessment
C
The biserial correlation A- is another name for the point biserial correlation B- is a type of product moment correlation C- can be estimated from the item discrimination index D- can be estimated from the item reliability index
A
The discriminability of an item refers to the capacity of the item to A- separate those that are high and low on the trait of interest B- distinguish between minority and majority groups C- identify those who get the item correct D- identify those who get the difficult items right
B
The empirical approach to psychological test development A- begins with a sound theory B- relies on the frequency of endorsement of items by selected groups C- continues to be the major approach to the construction of personality tests D- ensures that all items in the test have high face validity
D
The first step in constructing a psychological test is to A- determine the sample size to which the test is administered B- review the relevant literature C- identify a likely publisher for the test D- be clear about the construct or constructs to be assessed with the test
B
The item validity is the A- correlation of the item score with the total score on the test B- correlation of the item with an external criterion measure of the construct being tested C- average correlation of the item with all other items D- correlation of the item with the average score on all other items
B
The model of measurement that underlies many commercially available psychological tests is A- the manifest trait model B- the weak true score model C- S S Stevens's measurement types D- the Guttman model
A
The term 'social desirability' when used with respect to construction of a personality test refers to the fact that A- people differ in their tendency to create a favourable impression of themselves when answering test items B- people differ in how strongly they are drawn to the company of others C- people differ in how attractive they find social activities D- people differ in terms of their tendency to agree rather than disagree with personality statements
A
Thurstone's approach to the construction of attitude scales was replaced for most practical purposes by one developed by A- Rensis Likert B- Louise Guttman C- Georg Rasch D- Charles Spearman
C
Thurstone's model for item construction calls for a A- linear trace line B- monotonic trace line C- non-monotonic trace line D- deterministic trace line
