Assignment Code/Number : 858953/02
Assignment Topic : Psychometric Properties of psychological assessment
measures
Due date : 08 July 2013
Contents pages
1. The process of developing a psychological assessment measure
a) Introduction ……………. 3
b) Seven steps to consider when developing a -
Psychological assessment measure 4 ……………. 4
c) Steps that should be followed in the adaptation -
of an assessment measure for cross-cultural application …………… 10
2. References …………… 12
The process does not only encompass steps to be followed in developing a psychological measure, however careful attention is also given to matters of reliability, validity and the establishing of norms. There are also other important factors involved in the process of developing an assessment measure that the discussion might not touch on extensively – but provide brief information on them.
It should be noted that on every step of the development of the assessment measure, considerations to be made frequently make reference to ascertain that the measure measures what it is intended to measure in a very precise extent (Validity). The second consideration that will directly or indirectly surface in the discussion is whether the measure is consistent in measuring whatever it is measuring (reliability).
Seven Steps to consider when developing a psychological assessment measure
The process of developing a psychological measure comprises of seven steps, which each step has more specific steps to be considered during the process. The steps provide a well-thought thorough process of developing a both valid and reliable measure. These steps, which are referred to as phases by Foxcroft and Roodt (2009) are namely; planning, item writing, assembling and pre-testing the experimental version of the measure, item analysis, revising and standardizing the final version of the measure, technical evaluation and establishing norms, and lastly; publishing and ongoing refinement.
Planning is the most critical stage of the development process, as it acts as a guide to all the other steps to be carried out. In this stage the measurement (test) developer puts much focus on specifying the aim of the measure, defining the content of the measure, and developing a test plan. The specification of the aim of the measure is to elicit clear information of the intended purpose of the measure, what construct will it measure, and whether the measure is to be used for screening purposes or in-depth diagnosis assessment. This stage considers what conclusions could be drawn on collected test scores, how will scores be collected, to whom (stating the suitable population group) will the test be administered, and whether the measure is paper-based or computer-based.
On the first stage of planning, before defining the content, a decision is to be taken whether the measure will be normative, ipsative or criterion-referenced. A normative measure is when an individual’s performance is compared to that of a norm group, ipsative measure refers to intra-individual comparisons made when evaluating performance, and criterion-referenced measures are achieved through interpreting individual’s performance to performance standards associated with specified contents –such as academic literacy (Foxcroft & Roodt, et el., 2009).
When all specifications have been made, it is important to define the content of the measure. Wilson (2004) in Foxcroft & Roodt (2009) p.67, states...
