Students will learn the foundational principles of psychological measurement, as well as the development and evaluation of measurement tools. Students will work independently and in small groups to develop a measurement tool that is informed by extant literature and theory before collecting responses and evaluating the quality of their measurement tool.

Six one hour lectures.

Two 2 hour lab sessions.

Online support via Teams

None

None

Set Exercise: Data skills exercise (40%)

Students will individually complete a series of data skills exercises to support the analyses required for the written assessment.

Written Assignment: Measurement tool (60%) - 1500 words

GROUP SUBMISSION. Students will submit their test items as well as the iterative process undertaken for their development. Following the guidance given, construct definition, rationale, and item generation must be outlined alongside the test items themselves. The usability, relevance, and quality of the measurement tool created by students will be evaluated. The individual items will be evaluated based on how they are informed by the literature and existing measurement tool.

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course will introduce students to the foundational importance of rigorous measurement principles in psychological research and practice. This course supports students in developing skills in both research and application with a bottom-up journey through the principles underlying the design and creation of measurement tools and their role in measuring psychological phenomena. Activities within this course will support progression to PSYCH4037 and compliment the activities therein.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Develop an understanding of the foundational principles of psychological measurement (e.g. Classical Test Theory, reliability and validity)

■ Design and generate a measurement tool

■ Critically evaluate the relevance, applicability and psychometric properties of a measurement

■ Compose and write a test summary to describe their measurement tool.

■ Collect responses to conduct preliminary evaluations of their measurement tool

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.