Short scales are time-efficient for participants and cost-effective in research. However, researchers often mistakenly expect short scales to have the same reliability as long ones without considering the effect of scale length. We argue that applying a universal benchmark for alpha is problematic as the impact of low-quality items is greater on…

Mental imagery is a vital cognitive skill that significantly influences how reality is perceived while creating art. Its multifaceted nature reveals various dimensions of creative expression, amplifying the inherent complexities of measuring it. This study aimed to shorten the Mental Imagery Scale in Artistic Creativity (MISAC) via the Ant Colony…

Experimental psychology is witnessing an increase in research on individual differences, which requires the development of new tasks that can reliably assess variations among participants. To do this, cognitive researchers need statistical methods that many researchers have not learned during their training. The lack of expertise can pose…

A single group (SG) equating design with nearly equivalent test forms (SiGNET) design was developed by Grant (2006) to equate small volume tests. The basis of this design is that examinees take two largely overlapping test forms within a single administration. The scored items for the operational form are divided into mini-tests called testlets.…

The "PISA 2009 Technical Report" describes the methodology underlying the PISA 2009 survey. It examines additional features related to the implementation of the project at a level of detail that allows researchers to understand and replicate its analyses. The reader will find a wealth of information on the test and sample design,…

Internal consistency as one rationale for item selection from the unverse of possible test items is discussed and formulae are presented which relate the maximum internal consistency of a test to the largest eigenvalue of the interitem correlation matrix. A computer program to perform these calculations is presented. (Author/JKS)

Investigated empirically through post mortem item-examinee sampling were the relative merits of two alternative procedures for allocating items to subtests in multiple matrix sampling and the feasibility of using the jackknife in approximating standard errors of estimate. The results indicate clearly that a partially balanced incomplete block…

The use of matrix sampling to overcome the impracticality of the pair comparison method for obtaining scale values is empirically tested. Results indicate that matrix sampling is useful in such applications. (Author/JKS)

The assumption that an examinee's response to an item is independent of the context in which it occurs is tested. (PR)

The effect of stratified sampling of items based on item difficulty and/or interitem correlations on the estimation of test score distribution parameters using multiple matrix sampling was studied. Results indicated that stratification did not consistently improve the stability of parameter estimation. (Author/JKS)

Several techniques exist to automatically put together a test meeting a number of specifications. In an item bank, the items are stored with their characteristics. A test is constructed by selecting a set of items that fulfills the specifications set by the test assembler. Test assembly problems are often formulated in terms of a model consisting…

Six in-general samples have been generated to fit different developments of the SVIB, Twenty experimental homogeneous scales were used to measure the similarities and differences among the six in-general samples. Generally, all samples were strikingly similar with the greatest differences appearing between male and female in-general samples.…

In a post-mortem study of item sampling, 1,050 examinees were divided into ten groups 50 times. Each time, their papers were scored on four different sets of item samples from a 150-item test of academic aptitude. These samples were selected using (a) unstratified random sampling and stratification on (b) content, (c) difficulty, and (d) both.…