Score Reliability

Contemporary Thinking on Reliability Issues

Bruce Thompson

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Year: 2002
• Print ISBN: 9780761926269
• eBook ISBN: 9781452214269
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Research & Methodology
• Index: Social Sciences

"This is a book that should be on the desk of anyone truly concerned with reliability. The whole question of conditional reliabilities is current and important; and, the question of reliability generalization is being opened out and moving away from Cronbach?s approach. The topic is an important one."

--Richard L. Gorsuch, Director of Research in Graduate School of Psychology, Fuller Theological Seminary

Should a high school diploma be awarded to students based on their score on a final exit exam? Should businesses deny employment to people based on their score on a personality test? In a world of "high stakes" testing, it has become more important than ever to make certain the scores on which we base our decisions are reliable. Aimed at helping researchers create and evaluate scores better, this reader presents the basic concepts of classical (or "true score") and modern ("generalizability") test theory. Beginning with a review of reliability and validity issues in measurement, the book covers score reliability, reliability induction, and reliability generalization. Exercises with sample data are included at the end of each section so readers can demonstrate knowledge of the principles.

About the Author

 

Bruce Thompson is Professor and Distinguished Research Scholar, Department of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University, and Adjunct Professor of Family and Community Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine (Houston). He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and an elected member of the Executive Council of the American Educational Research Association. Thompson is also the editor of the Sage Publications journal Educational and Psychological Measurement.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Preface
• Part I - Basic Concepts in Score Reliability
• Chapter 1 - Understanding Reliability and Coefficient alpha, Really
• Exercise Set #1
• Chapter 2 - Correcting Effect Sizes for Score Reliability: A Reminder That Measurement and Substantive Issues Are Linked Inextricably
• Chapter 3 - A Brief Introduction to Generalizability Theory
• Chapter 4 - Reliability Methods: A Note on the Frequency of Use of Various Types
• Chapter 5 - Confidence Intervals About Score Reliability Coefficients
• Exercise Set #2
• Part II - The Nature of Reliability
• Chapter 6 - Guidelines for Authors Reporting Score Reliability Estimates
• Chapter 7 - Reliability as Psychometrics Versus Datametrics
• Chapter 8 - Psychometrics Is Datametrics: The Test Is Not Reliable
• Chapter 9 - Reliability: Rejoinder to Thompson and Vacha-Haase
• Part III - Reliability Induction and Reporting Practices
• Chapter 10 - Sample Compositions and Variabilities in Published Studies Versus Those in Test Manuals: Validity of Score Reliability Inductions
• Chapter 11 - How Well Do Researchers Report Their Measures? An Evaluation of Measurement in Published Educational Research
• Chapter 12 - The Degree of Congruence Between Test Standards and Test Documentation Within Journal Publications
• Exercise Set #3
• Part IV - Reliability Generalization
• Chapter 13 - Reliability Generalization: Exploring Variance in Measurement Error Affecting Score Reliability Across Studies
• Chapter 14 - Assessing the Reliability of Beck Depression Inventory Scores: Reliability Generalization Across Studies
• Chapter 15 - Measurement Error in "Big Five Factors" Personality Assessment: Reliability Generalization Across Studies and Measures
• Chapter 16 - Reliability Generalization of the NEO Personality Scales
• Exercise Set #4
• Index
• About the Editor