OVERVIEW

The course covers the basic concepts of psychometric theory and the basic statistical methods commonly used in psychology

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course covers the basic elements of the measurement of psychological variables. Students will be provided with a conceptual and practical introduction to the basic statistical methods and techniques needed to adequately develop a psychological test and assess its validity and reliability. Specifically, the course focuses on the wording of questions and items that make up the test, on descriptive and inferential statistics, and on correlation analysis.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course comprises two parts, with different learning objectives

Part 1: Psychometric statistics: this part aims at developing students' skills in carrying out basic statistical analyses (descriptive and inferential analyses) on data from psychological research, and at introducing the basics of research methodology. These skills should enable students to design simple research projects, and to read and understand scientific research reports and articles.

Part 2: Psychometric theory and techniques: this part aims at developing students' knowledge and skills about designing, developing, validating, and administering psychological tests, about adapting psychological measures to another language, and about the empirical tests and related statistical techniques of the adequacy of validity and reliability of a psychological measure. These skills are expected to enable students to critically evaluate the information about a psychological test.

PREREQUISITES

Knowledge of basic math

TEACHING METHODS

The course involves in-person lectures delivered by the lecturer with visual support of slides. The lecturer might resort to online lectures (on the Teams platform) in case of specific arrangements by the University. Online lectures are held on the Teams channel "Lezioni Psicometria e Teoria dei Test" which can be accessed with the code jslf1wv

Students interested in the course topics also have the opportunity to carry out internship or laboratory activities with the lecturer and his research group, as well as dissertations. 

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Part 1: Psychometric statistics. Basic concepts of psychometric theory and research methods in psychology, descriptive statistics (measurement scales, common psychological tests, validity, reliability, measures of central tendency, ranking, dispersion, shape of the distribution, and standardization of scores; combinatorial analysis, probability theory); inferential statistics (hypothesis testing for one and two independent and related samples, measures of effect size); basics of the general linear model (one-way analysis of variance for independent and related samples); measures of association (chi-square test for the independence of categorical variables, correlation, linear bivariate regression)

Part 2: Psychometric theory and techniques. Theoretical foundations of measurement in psychology, construct definition and operalization, assessment of content and face validity, item wording techniques, item analysis, test reliability, factor analysis, asessmento of criterion and construct validity, adaptation of a psychological measure in another language.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

International students can ask to receive materials in English and can take the written exam in English, French, Spanish, and German. Oral exams are available in English only.

International students can use a reference the following book:

Furr, R. M., & Bacharach, V. R. (2008). Psychometrics: An introduction. Sage Publications, Inc.

They can ask the teacher for study materials in other languages, but it cannot be guaranteed that they will be provided.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

CARLO CHIORRI (President)

FABRIZIO BRACCO

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The calendar of classes will be published in September 2023 on the DISFOR website (https://disfor.unige.it/).

 [Please note that they will be delivered in Italian, although foreign students can ask questions in English, French, and Spanish]

Class schedule

PSYCHOMETRICS AND THEORY OF THE TESTS

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

There is no program distinction between attending and non-attending, nor between workers and non-workers. Registration is mandatory and failure to register will result in inability to participate in the test. No exceptions to this rule are made for any reason. Registration automatically closes 5 days before the date of the exame. This advance notice is necessary so that the lecturer can prepare a sufficient number of test and reserve a classroom appropriate to the number of participants. In case of problems with registration, students can solve the problem by emailing the lecturer and reporting the problem, but always before the opportunity to register online expires. There are no restrictions on the possibility of registering for the exam (i.e. there is no skip appeal in case of a failed exam).

Examination procedures

The exam will be a single written test and will include both the topics of Part 1 and Part 2 for students of this and previous academic years.

The exam paper is a written test lasting 2 hours (120 minutes, with the compensations foreseen for those who have provided certification of disability) on the topics of the programme presented in class and contained in the recommended texts, consisting of practical exercises of analysis and interpretation of data and open questions of theory in which the student must show that he/she has the necessary skills: 

• sufficient knowledge of the procedures for carrying out basic statistical analyses, both descriptive and inferential, for research in psychology and the social sciences
• the knowledge and ability to discuss the topics of the course in an appropriate manner, both in terms of clarity of presentation and terminological precision

The written test allows the student to reflect on the necessary steps to be taken to carry out the data analysis without the pressure of the lecturer waiting for an answer and to show that she/he is able to carry them out as required by the international scientific community. In addition, the presence of open questions that require a response that is both concise and exhaustive allows the teacher to check whether the student is able to express the concepts covered by the course in an adequate manner, both in terms of terminology and clarity of exposition, for a future professional.

During the test, the student may bring along a common calculator but is not allowed to consult any publication or use any electronic device (the use of cell phone calculator, smartphones, smartwatches, computers, pads or other electronic tools that allow Internet browsing and communication with the outside world is not allowed). Any student caught violating these rules during the test is automatically failed.

The test consists of data analysis exercises and open-ended theory questions. The number of exercises may vary according to the time required to carry out the calculations, just as the number of questions may vary according to the breadth of the subject under investigation. In all cases, the maximum mark achievable for each exercise or question is indicated on the sheet.

Answers should only be written in pen on the sheets provided by the teacher (additional sheets may be obtained when all the sheets available have been filled). Answers written in pencil which are not diagrams or other graphical representations useful for the answer and/or on sheets of paper not supplied by the teacher will not be considered. 

Examples of data analysis exercises, examples of theoretical questions, and facsimiles of examination papers can be found in the Teaching Materials folder dedicated to this part on the Aulaweb site for the current academic year. Further examples of solutions and exercises can be found in the manuals indicated for the examination.

Students with DSA or disability certification are entitled to 30% and 50% extra time, respectively, to take the exam, but they are requested to inform the teacher of this by e-mail before the Aulaweb page with the exam is published, as a special page must be generated. The teacher does not guarantee that extra time or compensatory measures will be granted in the event of non-communication. If students have serious difficulties or are unable to take the exam in this mode, they are invited to contact the teacher and the Contact Person for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities (contact) to report their condition and request a different exam modes.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The evaluation of the solutions of the exercises is not based on the result of the calculations but on the procedure by which the student arrived at the result; calculation errors are not taken into account unless they lead to inadmissible results (such as, for example, negative variances or correlation coefficients outside the range -1;+1). It is also considered the precision and correctness with which the variables and their scales are defined, the precision and correctness of the formulation of the hypotheses, the consistency of the conclusions with the results obtained and, when required, the adequacy of the graphical representation of the data.

The assessment of the answers to the open questions is based on their centrality to the question, on the fact that they are exhaustive and detailed with respect to the subject, written with the correct terminology and spelling of terms and authors' names and such that even those who know nothing about the subject can understand the fundamental aspects of the topic.

The final mark consists of the sum of the marks obtained for each part of the test, rounded up to the customary whole number. The examination is deemed to have been passed if the student has obtained at least a mark of 18. Only in this case is it possible to take an oral supplement. This integration covers the entire programme and consists of one or two questions designed to check the student's understanding of the topics and her/his ability to reflect on what has been learnt. The oral integration may lead to variations in the mark already obtained of a maximum of 2 points, either upwards or downwards. The oral integration cannot be taken without having obtained at least 18 in the written part. After the oral integration, the grade is considered final and the unsatisfied student will have to repeat the test, starting with the written paper (with the final loss of the grade already obtained).

Grades are automatically recorded one week after the publication of the results. Rejection can be expressed by e-mail or on receipt of the registration notification. Rejection of a mark means the definitive loss of the mark obtained, which cannot be recovered at a later date.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students with learning disabilities, special educational needs, and/or any sort of disability that can prevent them to take the exam as described are invited to e-mail the teacher to agree upon a way of taking the exam that suits their needs.  

Students can join the research activity of the teacher of the following topics:

• Development and validation of psychological tests
• Italian adaptation of tests originally in a foreign language
• Multivariate statistical analyses: factor analysis, structural equation modeling, Rasch and Item Response Theory Models
• Personality traits and individual differences
• Personality disorders and clinical assessment
• Cognitive styles