Reliability and Validity Flashcards
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Alternative
Two forms of the same test developed; different items selected according to the same rules. Different distribution of scores (mean and variance may not be equal)
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Base rate
the proportion of individual in the population who show the behaviour of interest in a given psychological testing or assessment situation
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Classical test theory
a body of related psychometric theory that predicts outcomes of psychological testing such as the difficulty of items or the ability of test-takers
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Concurrent validity
a form of predictive validity in which the index of social behaviour is obtained close in time to score on the psychological test (or other assessment device)
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Construct underrepresentation
failure to capture important components of a contruct
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Construct validity
the meaning of a test score made possible by knowledge of the pattern of relationships it enters into with other variables and the theoretical interpretation of those relationships
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Constuct-irrelevant variance
measuring things other than the construct of interest
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Content validity
the extent to which items on a test represent the universe of behaviour the test was designed to measure
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Convergent and discriminant validity
the subjection of a multitrait-multimethod matric to a set of criteria that specify which correlations should be large and which small in terms of a psychological theory of the constructs
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Criterion-related validity
the extent to which a measure is related to an outcome (e.g. marks in Year 12 are used to predict performance at university)
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Cronbach’s alpha
an estimate of reliability that is based on the average intercorrelation of the items in a test
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Cutting point
the test score or point on a scale, in the case of another assessment device, that is used to split those being tested or assessed into two groups predicted to show or not show some behaviour of interest
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Domain-sampling model
a way of thinking about the composition of a psychological test that sees the test as a representative sample of the larger domain of possible items that could be included in the test
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Equivalent forms reliability
the estimate of reliability of a test obtained by comparing two forms of a test constructed to measure the same construct
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Errors of measurement
Factors that contribute to inconsistency - characteristics of tests taker, test or situation that have nothing to do with attribute being tested by effect scores
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Face validity
Does the test look like it measures the relevant construct?
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Factor analysis
a mathematical method of summarising a matric of values (such as the intercorrelation of test scores) in terms of a smaller number of values (factors) from which the original matric can be reproduced
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False negative decision
a decision that incorrectly allocates a test taker or person being assessed to the category of those predicted not to show some behaviour of interest on the basis of their score on a test or other assessment device
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False positive decision
a decision that incorrectly allocates a test taker or person being assessed to the category of those predicted to show some behaviour of interest on the basis of their score on a test or other assessment device
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Generalisability theory
a set of ideas and procedures that follow from the proposal that the consistency or precision of the output of a psychological assessment device depends on specifying the desired range of conditions over which this is to hold
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Incremental validity
the extent to which knowledge of score on a test (or other assessment device) adds to that obtained by another, pre-existing score or psychological characteristic
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Inter-rater reliability
the extent to which different raters agree in their assessments of the same sample of ratees
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Internal consistency
the extent to which a psychological test is homogenous or heterogeneous
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Kuder-Richardson 20 (KR20)
a particular case of Cronbach’s alpha for dichotomously scored items (i.e. scored as 0 or 1)
