CODE 67252 ACADEMIC YEAR 2024/2025 CREDITS 12 cfu anno 2 SCIENZE E TECNICHE PSICOLOGICHE 8751 (L-24) - GENOVA 1 cfu anno 1 TECNICHE DI NEUROFISIOPATOLOGIA 11757 (L/SNT3) - GENOVA 1 cfu anno 3 EDUCAZIONE PROFESSIONALE 9280 (L/SNT2) - GENOVA 2 cfu anno 2 ORTOTTICA ED ASSISTENZA OFTALMOLOGICA 9283 (L/SNT2) - GENOVA SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINARY SECTOR M-PSI/03 LANGUAGE Italian TEACHING LOCATION GENOVA SEMESTER 1° Semester PREREQUISITES Propedeuticità in ingresso Per sostenere l'esame di questo insegnamento è necessario aver sostenuto i seguenti esami: Psychological Sciences and Techniques 8751 (coorte 2024/2025) GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 55975 2024 Psychological Sciences and Techniques 8751 (coorte 2022/2023) GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 55975 2022 Psychological Sciences and Techniques 8751 (coorte 2023/2024) GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 55975 2023 TEACHING MATERIALS AULAWEB 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 main objectives are to acquire knowledge and skills about (1) descriptive and inferential statistics and (2) the statistical methodology and techniques necessary for proper development of a psychological test and for ascertaining its validity and reliability. 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 samples, linear bivariate regression); measures of association (chi-square test for the independence of categorical variables, correlation) 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 CARLO CHIORRI Ricevimento: Students can request an appointment via e-mail to the lecturer so that the day, time and place can be agreed upon. In presence, office hours are usually held in the lecturer's office at the Department of Education, Corso A. Podestà, 2, Room 4A3 (4th floor), 16128 Genoa Online the office hours are held on the Teams channel "Ricevimento Chiorri," which can be accessed with the code 710t4r2 Teachers' contacts E-mail Exam Board CARLO CHIORRI (President) FABRIZIO BRACCO LESSONS LESSONS START The course takes place in the first semester, starting in September. The calendar of classes will be published on the DISFOR website (https://disfor.unige.it/didattica/orario-lezioni). [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 Data appello Orario Luogo Degree type Note 07/01/2025 10:00 GENOVA Scritto 20/01/2025 10:00 GENOVA Orale 20/01/2025 10:00 GENOVA Orale 21/01/2025 10:00 GENOVA Scritto 04/02/2025 10:00 GENOVA Scritto 20/02/2025 10:00 GENOVA Orale 20/02/2025 10:00 GENOVA Orale 21/05/2025 10:00 GENOVA Scritto 04/06/2025 10:00 GENOVA Scritto 18/06/2025 10:00 GENOVA Scritto 19/06/2025 10:00 GENOVA Orale 19/06/2025 10:00 GENOVA Orale 09/07/2025 10:00 GENOVA Scritto 10/07/2025 10:00 GENOVA Orale 10/07/2025 10:00 GENOVA Orale 09/09/2025 10:00 GENOVA Scritto 22/09/2025 10:00 GENOVA Orale 22/09/2025 10:00 GENOVA Orale FURTHER INFORMATION For students with disabilities or specific learning disorder (SLD). Students with disabilities or with DSA are reminded that in order to request adaptations in the exam, they must first enter the certification on the University website at servizionline.unige.it in the “Students” section. The documentation will be verified by the University's Services for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and DSA Sector (https://rubrica.unige.it/strutture/struttura/100111). Subsequently, significantly in advance (at least 10 days) of the examination date, an e-mail must be sent to the teacher with whom the examination will be taken, including in the knowledge copy both the School's Teacher Referent for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and with DSA (laura.traverso@unige.it) and the above-mentioned Sector using one of the following addresses (disabili@unige.it; dsa@unige.it). The e-mail should specify: the name of the course the date of the exam the student's last name, first name and roll number the compensatory tools and dispensatory measures deemed functional and required. ================================================================================================== 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 Agenda 2030 - Sustainable Development Goals Good health and well being Quality education Gender equality