Fundamentals Of Measurement In Applied Research

Fundamentals of Measurement in Applied Research

This text introduces students to the common measurement tools used in Education and Social Science Research so that they can design, produce, and use new research. This text will show how users of research and assessment tools can become proficient in the production of new instruments and understand the skills necessary for constructing new measures. Details of how psychometric, developmental, and interpretive approaches to measurement are used in a multitude of social sciences are reviewed and supporting activities show how researchers use key measurement concepts. The book can be covered one chapter at a time in a formal measurement course or used as a supplementary text for a course on research design.From the Back CoverFundamentals of Measurement in Applied Research introduces students to common measurement techniques from applied research so that they can design, produce, and use new tools. The author shows how users of research and assessment tools can become proficient in the production of new instruments. The text reviews details of how psychometric, developmental, and interpretive approaches to measurement are used in a multitude of educational and social sciences. Supporting activities illustrate how researchers use key measurement concepts. The text can be covered one chapter at a time in a formal measurement course or used as a supplementary text for courses in research design.Special FeaturesInterdisciplinary measurement techniques from psychology, education, anthropology, linguistics, and political science are reviewed so that students can understand controversies and similarities in how concepts are evaluated. New measurement techniques for evaluating human functioning include assessing individual differences, change, and cultural variability. Making Connections dialogue boxes and examples in every chapter link measurement concepts to existing research by encouraging students to focus on their own research interests while learning basic measurement techniques. Learning by Doing activities have been designed for each chapter in which students can practice measuring human functioning.Visit the Learning by Doing Web Site that accompanies this textbook at www.ablongman.com/thorkildsen1e for additional resources!Learning by Doing activities, designed for each chapter, are available on-line! These activities can be done in class or as independent projects. During classes, students can work with one another as sample participants or work in teams to practice central measurement skills. Comparing their results to published reports, individuals who prefer to work independently can also use these activities to strengthen their data collection and reporting skills. Some activities can be linked directly to an answer key or to published reports of articles from which the tools were extracted. The UIC site is: http://www.uic.edu/educ/measure/.