Assessment, Statistics, and Research

  Invariance Testing in Psychology Invariance testing is a statistical technique to assist researchers in determining the degree of comparability of a measure, which has been used with different groups. When a measure has been modified, translated, or used with people in various cultures, invariance testing can help determine if the same construct is being measured by the changes to the original measure and how people in different groups may understand the items. Invariance testing is important to ensure a measure functions in the same way (measures the same concept) in different groups. Hypothetical Example : A 16-item measure of forgiveness may have been originally written in American English and tested with college samples. The items are translated into four different languages and administered in ten different locations. One thing a researcher can do is examine the psychometric properties in the different samples. They may also consider correlations with other measures....

    Assessment Instrument:   Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) The EAR is a scientific instrument for recording short snippets of ambient sounds (e.g., 30 sec every 12.5 min). Participants activate an app or wear a device while the recorder creates audio files. Inventor: The EAR was developed by psychological scientist Matthais Mehl. DATA : The raw data are acoustic files. Data Analyses: Researchers can listen to the data or read a transcript to search for targeted data. For example, a researcher could search for evidence of humility or anger. Researchers could use a coding strategy to identify multiple target sounds, words, or phrases. The data could be analyzed for social environmental data using the Social Environment Coding of Sound Inventory (SECSI; Mehl & Pennebaker, 2003). Researchers can submit the data for qualitative or quantitative text analysis. Examples of participant EAR data (See Tackman & Mehl, 2003.) 1. Location of the...

  Introduction to a Basic Study This post provides information about one way to evaluate a workshop or seminar. I will illustrate the process using a hypothetical example of forgiveness. Suppose you wanted to evaluate the effectiveness of a workshop on forgiveness.  You hypothesize that the group participating in the workshop would be more forgiving toward an offender than the group not receiving the forgiveness workshop. Get approval from your company, university, or other research review board. They usually have forms listing the information you need to provide. Recruit participants for your workshop. Obtain consent for the study. Select   a forgiveness program Select a survey to measure progress in forgiveness. Create two groups of people.     Group 1 gets the workshop now.     Group 2 gets the workshop later and will serve as a control group. Randomly assign volunteers to one of the two groups. Deliver the workshop. Assess the participants' pr...

  Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is a statistical technique that is widely used in psychology and related fields to examine the relationships between observed variables and latent constructs. In SEM, a theoretical model is specified in which the relationships between latent constructs and observed variables are represented by a set of equations.   An example of the application of SEM in counseling psychology might involve examining the relationship between different types of coping strategies and symptoms of depression. The model might include several latent constructs such as avoidant coping, problem-focused coping, and depression, as well as observed variables such as self-reported coping behaviors and measures of depressive symptoms. SEM would allow researchers to test the strength and direction of the relationships between these constructs and variables, as well as the overall fit of the model to the data. An Example Smith, J. K., Johnson, L. M., & Jones, ...

  READING EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH: QUESTIONS TO GUIDE YOUR ANALYSIS Geoffrey W. Sutton, Ph.D.   Use the following questions to help you read psychological experiments. With experience, the questions should become a natural part of your analysis.   Who are the authors? When was the study published? Where do the authors write? How do you contact the lead author? Which journal published the article? How was the research funded? What might the above situation suggest about the research? What was studied (variables)? Why was it studied (need, importance)? What theory or theories provide the context for the study? What have previous studies found? What was expected (purpose, hypotheses)? Whom (describe the participants)? Age Gender Ethnicity Other key variables How did the authors operationally define their variables? How to (what procedures were followed)? How did they control for possible confounding effects (internal validit...

 FBI Reports Data Active Shooters 2019 FBI Report Several aspects of the FBI reports can help students, faculty, and leaders in presenting important data to the public. 1. On page 3 they define what they mean by an "active shooter." And they clarify that the report does not include all gun-related shootings. 2. Page 4 uses a two-color strategy to compare two years (2019, 2018) side by side. The selection of numbers to compare seems reasonable to understand what is going on. 3. Page 5 tells us where the shootings take place using a color-coded map. It offers a clear look though the selection of green may not be the best color when the gray areas are the "safe zones" where no shootings took place. See photo at the top of this page. 4. The graphics on page 7 offer a helpful illustration of ways to present information to the general public. We see data, graphic comparisons, and clear colors that help differences stand out. Reference link to FBI 2019 Report Permission to...

  Categorical variables are those variables having two or more groups or levels such as sex, ethnicity, and religious group.  They may be called independent variables even though they are not true independent variables under experimental control. Categorical variables, also called grouping variables,  can be created from continuous variables . For example, researchers often obtain the age of their study participants. Age is a continuous variable but sometimes, researchers group ages together and compare how people of different age groups answer questions on a survey. Learn More in Creating Surveys on  AMAZON  or  GOOGLE Please check out my website     www.suttong.com    and see my books on    AMAZON         or   GOOGLE STORE Also, consider connecting with me on     FACEBOOK     Geoff W. Sutton         TWITTER    @Geo...

  Independent variable (IV) . The variable in a research study that a researcher manipulates to determine if another variable, the dependent variable , changes when the IV changes. Creating Surveys on AMAZON    or   GOOGLE  Worldwide Links to Connections Checkout My Website     www.suttong.com    See my Books    AMAZON             GOOGLE STORE   FOLLOW me on    FACEBOOK     Geoff W. Sutton          TWITTER    @Geoff.W.Sutton      PINTEREST    www.pinterest.com/GeoffWSutton   Read published articles:     Academia    Geoff W Sutton         ResearchGate    Geoffrey W Sutton  

  Dependent variable (DV ). The variable in a research study that is expected to change when a researcher varies the level of an independent variable . Example: In a counseling study designed to help people forgive, forgiveness would be the DV and the survey used to measure forgiveness would be the Dependent Measure. Creating Surveys on AMAZON    or   GOOGLE  Worldwide Links to Connections   Checkout My Website     www.suttong.com    See my Books      AMAZON             GOOGLE STORE   JOIN me on      FACEBOOK     Geoff W. Sutton          TWITTER    @Geoff.W.Sutton      PINTEREST    www.pinterest.com/GeoffWSutton   Read many published articles:     Academia    Geoff W Sutton       ...