Classical test theory has been rejected for application to criterion-referenced (CR) tests by most psychometricians due to an expected lack of variance in scores and other difficulties. The present study was conceived to resolve the variance problem and explore the possibility that classical test theory is both appropriate and desirable for some…

Multiple matrix sampling is a psychometric procedure in which a set of test items is subdivided randomly into subtests of items with each subtest administered to different subgroups of examinees selected at random from the examinee population. Although each examinee receives only a proportion of the complete set of items, the statistical model…

Explicit formulas are derived for the asymptotic sampling variances and covariances of the maximum likelihood estimators for factor-analysis parameters in the special case where there is just one common factor. The effect of the number of variables on these variances and covariances is indicated. A formula is given showing to what extent the usual…

Developed for presentation at the 12th Conference on Methods in Air Pollution and Industrial Hygiene Studies, University of Southern California, April, 1971, this outline discusses plumes with contaminants that are visible to the naked eye. Information covers: (1) history of air pollution control regulations, (2) need for methods of evaluating…

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)

Many proposed moderators, "explanatory variables," in personnel psychology are probably illusory, having been created solely by belief in the law of small numbers. Race is one such illusory moderator. Also described is a model for validity generalization that questions the traditional doctrine of situational specificity of test…

A reliable description of the person who writes media letters to newspapers and broadcast stations can be compiled from a combination of telephone and mail data less expensively than attempting to locate these letter writers through a random sample. (Author/JEG)

Assesses the validity of two test samples possibly useful to the public radio station manager for determining program preferences. Results suggest that economic, valid sampling techniques can be developed, which should focus on more accessible and economic techniques than random sampling. (JEG)

Offers suggestions to student pollsters regarding three aspects of the polling process: sampling, constructing the questionnaire, and reporting results. (GW)

This note suggests a solution to the problem of achieving randomization in experimental settings where units deemed eligible for treatment "trickle in," that is, appear at any time. The solution permits replication of the experiment in order to test for time-dependent effects. (Author/CTM)

Principal component analysis, image component analysis, and maximum likelihood factor analysis were compared to assess the effects of variable sampling. Results with respect to degree of saturation and average number of variables per factor were clear and dramatic. Differential effects on boundary cases and nonconvergence problems were also found.…

This paper illustrates an application of Efron's bootstrap to the repeated measures design. While this approach does not require parametric assumptions, it does utilize distributional information in the sample. By appropriately resampling from study data, the bootstrap may determine accurate sampling distributions for estimators, effects, or…

Altering first choices on multiple-choice questions on a medical examination (Canadian Self-Assessment Examination in Psychiatry) was examined to see whether this led to an increase or decrease in the final score. Examinees were one-and-a-half times more likely to improve than lower their score. (MLW)

Analysis of works in American literature from the Modern Language Association International Bibliography (1981) in regard to form, class of materials, language, subject, and age found more references to books than journal articles, and age dispersion was broad. Comparisons are made to other similar studies in sciences and humanities. (Author/EM)