Assessment, Statistics, and Research

Degrees of freedom (df) is a statistical concept representing the number of independent values that are "free to vary" in a data set when estimating a population parameter from a sample. In simpler terms, it's about how many pieces of information in a dataset can be chosen independently, given that some constraints or calculations are already in place.  An example from psychology Imagine a psychologist is conducting a study to see if a new therapeutic intervention improves self-esteem. They recruit a sample of 10 participants and measure their self-esteem before the intervention and after the intervention.  To analyze the data, the researcher might use a statistical test like a dependent samples t-test (also called a paired samples t-test), which compares the means of two related groups (in this case, the same participants before and after the intervention).  In a dependent samples t-test, the degrees of freedom are calculated as the number of pairs of observations (or th...

AI image Suttong.com 2025 Scale overview: The Spiritual Abuse Questionnaire-Short Form is a 4-item self-report instrument. Participants rate each item on a 4-point scale of agreement. [ Read more about Spiritual or Religious Abuse.] Authors : Kaelyn R. Griffin and others – see reference below. Response Type : A 4-point rating scale of agreement 1 = Strongly disagree 4 = Strongly agree Scale items The 4 items are found in the PsycTests reference and the journal article mentioned below. The items address severe criticism, fear-based control, and inducing shame or helplessness. See below for how to find the items. Psychometric properties Overall, the initial data support adequate reliability and validity in the US sample. Means and SDs ( Standard Deviations ) are provided in Table 1 of the journal article. No problems were noted for skew or kurtosis . The results include interitem correlations and findings from EFA , CFA , and measurement invariance testing. Reliability data revealed...

Assessment name: Utrecht Gender Dysphoria Scale-Gender Spectrum (UGDS-GS) Scale overview: The revised UGDS-GS is an 18-item instrument using gender-neutral language. Researchers can use this updated measure with a person of any gender identity and expression. Authors : Jenifer K. McGuire and others. See McGuire et al. (2020) below. Response Type: Five-point rating scale of agreement. Scale items-Examples 1. I prefer to behave like my affirmed gender. 2. Every time someone treats me like my assigned sex I fell hurt. Psychometric properties The UGDS-GS was evaluated in three gender groups: cisgender, binary transgender, and nonbinary/genderqueer. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis are included in the article indicating that the current 18-item scale is better than an earlier version. Item means and SDs are in Table 2. Availability : See Table 1 of McGuire et al. (2020) for a list of the 18 items. Author contact: jmcguire@umn.edu References for the scale 1. Mc...