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UW-Milwaukee PSYCH 325 - Chapter Four: Psychological Measurement

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Psych 325 1st Edition Lecture 10Part 1: Converting Notions to Numbers-Two major challenges for self-report questionsoJudgmental phase-Import of perspective taking ("travel guide")-Operationally defining theoretical constructoResponse translation phase-Constructing a survey questionnaire oNote that you will need to convert your information to numbers!!!oDo you need to develop a scale at all?oIf no, then use an existing and preferably "normed" scaleoIf yes, then your topic must be specific enough that you simply cannot find an appropriate one-Life satisfaction scale exampleo7 point scale ranging from "strongly disagree" (1) to "strongly agree" (7)-Pilot testingoSelect scales or questions that are relevant to your studyoAdminister scale with fellow researchers and experts outside of your research team who are familiar with the topic (i.e. focus group)-Open-ended vs. structured self-report questions-Discuss what you had the most trouble with, how you would do things differently, etc.oPilot test refers to a panel of experts or consumers -Voting behaviors of senior citizens in FL--senior citizens in Palm Beach, FL;-College student stress--college students & ask for thoughts about construct in question-Pilot test is a practice study designed to help researchers refine measures/manipulations they wish to use the full-blown version of a real study-Focus group: a small but representative sample of people from the group that the researcher wishes to study meet together to discuss relevant experiences.-Semi-structured but "focused"- moderated by researcher-who asks open-ended questions about the proposed research topici.e. study of bereavement-recruit people who lost loved ones to discuss feelings of loss-Use OPEN-ENDED responses to develop/refine measures to be used in the full-blown version of real studyNote issues people bring up with your questions and be prepared to revise accordinglyOpen-ended questions or used as primary source data-Allows for unexpected questions for future research -Disadvantage: hard to code/compare responsesThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.oStructured self-report questions: force people to use a specific response scale-i.e. by choosing a single # on 7-point LS response scale, look for variation-We use these more commonly in survey research, usually informative-DISADVANTAGE: not as colorful as open-ended responsesoNote: both types are preferred in pilot studies (is structured ? Doing its job?-Open-ended makes sense (see Dr. Rothman example on p. 94)-Wording questions well: checklisto#1 "KISS" or Keep it simple-Use informal languageoAvoid negations and double negativesoAvoid double-barreled questions-"I am lovable and capable person."oAvoid forced-choice items-"do you prefer apples or oranges?"-"are you sociable or rich?"-Avoid questions that do not yield any varianceoFloor effectsoCeiling effectsoRestriction of range-Other ways of wording questions effectivelyoUse relevant questions for respondentsoWrite multiple questions to assess the same constructoOther ideas for wording items-Mix it up (lessen response bias)-Establish a judgmental context (good instructions)-Erase into socially sensitive questions with sensitivity-Guarantee respondent's anonymity (lessen response bias)oQuestions should make sense to everyone in your sample (why pilot tests import)-Be gender-neutral and culturally unbiasedAppreciate the diversity in your sample-Recall the "more-is-better" rule of reliability (the distinctive aspects of any item are cancelled out with an increase in # of items)It is more likely that respondents see what you see if there is agreement across many items-General idea: measure the same basic construct but in somewhat different ways(to increase different types validity & reliability)-Use (+) and (-) worded Q's -reverse code negatively worded items-Why? People different (uniquely) in their general tendency to agree or disagreeTypes of response bias: -"yay-sayers" give researcher what they want to make them happy-"nay-sayers" (pessimists or rebels vs. the "system")Most judgments are relative (i.e. satisfied? Compared to what?)-Include instructions for proper context (i.e. exams)-Include warm-up/practice items at startWhat we ask when?-Solution?-"method foreplay" (i.e., provide warm-up Q's with easy/non-threatening Q's 1st)-To increase


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UW-Milwaukee PSYCH 325 - Chapter Four: Psychological Measurement

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