Students of the Dutch bachelor’s programme, see Psychometrie
Please note: Psychometrics in block 3 is only offered to pre-master students.
Entry requirements
Knowledge of the materials from the Methods and Statistics courses of the first year, with the additional requirement that participants should have completed at least one of these courses successfully.
Description
Any psychologist will at some point in their career need to administer, interpret or use psychological tests for decision making. Psychological tests are used, for example, in hiring decisions, to determine the best treatment for a patient, and in forensic assessment. Professional standards prescribe that the use and interpretation of psychological tests should be based on empirical evidence. In this course, students learn how empirical evidence (data) can be gathered and used to support the use and interpretation of test scores. They learn to apply and interpret methods and techniques to answer psychometric questions and how to translate test results to psychological assessment questions.
This course covers the following topics:
Introduction to psychometrics;
Scaling and standardisation;
Reliability;
Validity, factor structure and item analysis;
Item response theory;
Classification and predictive discriminant analysis;
Construction and revision of tests and questionnaires;
Reporting on psychometric research.
Course objectives
At the end of the course, the student can….
- Demonstrate knowledge of the core concepts and principles of classical and modern test theory.
- Demonstrate insight into which methods and techniques are necessary to evaluate the psychometric properties of psychological tests and questionnaires.
- organize the data of psychological tests and questionnaires and prepare these data for the application of psychometric methods and techniques.
- apply methods and techniques necessary to evaluate the psychometric properties of psychological tests and questionnaires, in particular methods and techniques aimed at the evaluation of reliability and validity, and the detection of test bias.
- interpret the results of methods and techniques necessary to evaluate the psychometric properties of psychological tests and questionnaires, in particular methods and techniques aimed at the evaluation of reliability and validity, the detection of test bias, and classification.
- formulate and answer substantive research questions about the psychometric properties of tests or questionnaires
- demonstrate basic skills in SPSS pertaining to learning goals 3-5.
Timetable
For the timetable of this course please refer to MyTimetable
Registration
Education
Students must register themselves for all course components (lectures, tutorials and practicals) they wish to follow. You can register up to 5 days prior to the start of the course. The exception here is that first-year bachelor students are assigned and registered for all components in the first semester or academic year by the administration of their bachelor programme. The programme will communicate to these students for which course components and for which period the registration applies.
Exams
You must register for each exam in My Studymap at least 10 days before the exam date. Don’t forget! For more information, see the enrolment procedure.
You cannot take an exam without a valid registration in My Studymap.
Carefully read all information about the procedures and deadlines for registering for courses and exams.
Students who take this course as part of a LDE minor or a premaster programme, exchange students and external guest students will be informed by the education administration about the current registration procedure.
Mode of instruction
8 2-hour lectures, 8 compulsory 1-hour computer practicals and 8 optional 2-hour work group sessions
During the lectures at the start of the week the most important concepts are introduced and clarified. The ciontent of the lectures are included in the examination materials. Students re expected to prepare for the lectures by studying the relevant components of the textbook and workbook. The lectures contribute primarily to course objectives 1-2 and 4-6.
In the computer practicals, students practice psychometric data analysis in the form of assignments from the workbook. Comparable assignments are part of the Practical Skills Test. Students are required to bring a USB stick to the practicals (as was also customary in the M&S courses of the first year). The practicals contribute primarily to course objectivs 3-5 and 7.
Students are expected to prepare for the work group sessions by completing a number of assignments from the workbook which they hand in before the work group session. These assignments are discussed in the work group session and are part of the attendance requirement. During the work group sessions students are also given the opportunity to practice with new assignments. In addition students are required to give a minimum of one presentation on the results of the practical during the work group sessions. The work group sessions contribute to learning objectives 1-2 and 4-6.
The entire course (including the exam) is provided in English. The book and the syllabus are also written in English.
Assessment method
The final grade is determined by combining the results of the multiple-choice examination (60%) and the Practical Skills Test (40%, only valid in combination with sufficiently active participation in the compulsory practicals). A bonus point for the multiple-choice exam may be earned by preparing and attending at least 6 out of 8 workgroups.
The exam covers the contents of the book, the syllabus, the lectures, the workgroups, and the computer practicals.
The time and format of the exam inspection will be provided at a later time via Brightspace.
The Institute of Psychology uses fixed rules for grade calculation and compulsory attendance. It also follows the policy of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences to systematically check student papers for plagiarism with the help of software. All students are required to take and pass the Scientific Integrity Test with a score of 100% in order to learn about the practice of integrity in scientific writing. Students are given access to the quiz via a module on Brightspace. Disciplinary measures will be taken when fraud is detected. Students are expected to be familiar with and understand the implications of these three policies.
Reading list
Furr, R.M. (2018). Psychometrics: An introduction. Third Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN 9781506389875.
Workbook Psychometrics (additional texts and assignments). You can order this workbook via Readeronline.
See also Brightspace for additional texts.
Contact information
Dr. J.N. Zadelaar (Jacqueline) psychometrie@fsw.leidenuniv.nl