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Psychometrics: An Introduction
" The main advantage of the text is a more contemporary and conceptual presentation of the material. I have been looking for a book with this level and focus for some time " Steven Pulos, "University"" of Northern Colorado"
In Psychometrics: An Introduction, authors R. Michael Furr and Verne R. Bacharach center their presentation of material around a conceptual understanding of psychometric issues, such as validity and reliability, and on purpose rather than procedure, the why rather than the how to. Their goal is to introduce psychometric principles at a level that is deeper and more focused than found in introductory undergraduate testing and measurement texts but that is more intuitive than traditionally found in the more technical publications intended for graduate courses. By emphasizing concepts over mathematical proofs and by focusing on practical significance, this book assists students in appreciating not just how measurement problems can be addressed and why it is important to address them.
KEY FEATURES
- "Presents information in a clear, easy-to-read, conversational style: "The authors introduce concepts in a way that is accessible to nonprofessionals without sacrifi cing the academic integrity of the material.
"Highlights practical applications: "Intended to enhance readers appreciation of the importance of psychometrics, the book provides examples that will resonate with students.
"Offers an up-to-date treatment of topics in psychometrics: "The book offers readers the most contemporary views of topics in psychometrics available in the nontechnical psychometric literature.
"Introduces statistical procedures in the context of their use rather than in a separate chapter: "The authors integrate statistics with a discussion of their use as tools to solve particular psychometric problems, encouraging a more complete understanding of both.
INTENDED AUDIENCE
Appropriate for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses such as Psychometrics, Testing and Measurement, Research Methods, and Experimental Methods across a range of behavioral sciences and education."
In Psychometrics: An Introduction, authors R. Michael Furr and Verne R. Bacharach center their presentation of material around a conceptual understanding of psychometric issues, such as validity and reliability, and on purpose rather than procedure, the why rather than the how to. Their goal is to introduce psychometric principles at a level that is deeper and more focused than found in introductory undergraduate testing and measurement texts but that is more intuitive than traditionally found in the more technical publications intended for graduate courses. By emphasizing concepts over mathematical proofs and by focusing on practical significance, this book assists students in appreciating not just how measurement problems can be addressed and why it is important to address them.
KEY FEATURES
- "Presents information in a clear, easy-to-read, conversational style: "The authors introduce concepts in a way that is accessible to nonprofessionals without sacrifi cing the academic integrity of the material.
"Highlights practical applications: "Intended to enhance readers appreciation of the importance of psychometrics, the book provides examples that will resonate with students.
"Offers an up-to-date treatment of topics in psychometrics: "The book offers readers the most contemporary views of topics in psychometrics available in the nontechnical psychometric literature.
"Introduces statistical procedures in the context of their use rather than in a separate chapter: "The authors integrate statistics with a discussion of their use as tools to solve particular psychometric problems, encouraging a more complete understanding of both.
INTENDED AUDIENCE
Appropriate for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses such as Psychometrics, Testing and Measurement, Research Methods, and Experimental Methods across a range of behavioral sciences and education."
- GenresPsychologyNonfiction
368 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 12, 2017
The first half of the book does a wonderful job explaining things! For some reason, the second half drops all math and starts to gloss over things. Ver annoying,
December 27, 2017
Great introductory book to psychometrics. I got the 2nd edition (published in 2014) so I'm not sure how it compares to this older addition. Very helpful explanations about different types of validity and other key concepts of psychometrics.
November 7, 2019
Way too tedious, verbose and repetitive
Want to Read
October 25, 2021n
November 6, 2019
Psychometrics: An Introduction is an academic textbook about evaluating the quality of psychological measures used for behavioural research. In short, it’s a book that attempts to take a closer look at tests/measures used in scientific fields of research: do these tests measure what they’re supposed to measure, for example? Are they reliable? Valid? Etc. Though this book does present all statistical and mathematical methods of testing the quality of a psychological measure, it’s more focused on the interpretation and implications of the results on the measure in question. Ergo, you’ll be finding more text in this book than you’ll be finding formulas and/or statistical exercises. The back cover text couldn’t have said it any better: “… center their presentation of material around a conceptual understanding of psychometric issues… on purpose rather than procedure, the ‘why’ rather than the ‘how to’.”
The book is divided into five large parts: (1) Basic concepts in measurement, (2) Reliability, (3) Validity, (4) Threats to psychometric quality, and (5) Advanced psychometric approaches.
This is an incredibly useful book, as it’s ridiculously important to know if the measures used in scientific research are really the proper instruments, and up to which point they prove to be useful. Not only for one’s own research, but also in interpreting the results of others, and in deciding whether researches are drawing the right conclusions based on what they’ve found. Psychometrics: An Introduction aids the reader by providing them with information that enables them to look at research methods, measures, and the interpretations of them more critically. It gives a deeper, conceptual understanding of statistical terms such as ‘reliability’ and ‘validity’ – what do they mean for research, or for its measures? It’s perfectly wonderful if you can perform all necessary statistical steps to end up with a figure for reliability or validity, but what does it really amount to?
That’s what this book is about. It shouldn’t be used as a (basic) book on statistical measures, but as a book for understanding the underlying concepts needed to determine the quality of psychological measures, and in turn what the results of these measures mean for research. The authors do a tremendous job of explaining an entire array of abstract concepts by using simple examples and analysing statistical formulas. The book is comprehensive and succinct because of this, making it a great academic read.
It’s meant for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses, with which I have to agree. It asks for a more advanced understanding of certain statistical topics than introductory or basic books, and I personally found it to be a tremendous read as I, after reading it, finally had the idea that I properly understood psychometric matters such as validity and reliability.
The book is divided into five large parts: (1) Basic concepts in measurement, (2) Reliability, (3) Validity, (4) Threats to psychometric quality, and (5) Advanced psychometric approaches.
This is an incredibly useful book, as it’s ridiculously important to know if the measures used in scientific research are really the proper instruments, and up to which point they prove to be useful. Not only for one’s own research, but also in interpreting the results of others, and in deciding whether researches are drawing the right conclusions based on what they’ve found. Psychometrics: An Introduction aids the reader by providing them with information that enables them to look at research methods, measures, and the interpretations of them more critically. It gives a deeper, conceptual understanding of statistical terms such as ‘reliability’ and ‘validity’ – what do they mean for research, or for its measures? It’s perfectly wonderful if you can perform all necessary statistical steps to end up with a figure for reliability or validity, but what does it really amount to?
That’s what this book is about. It shouldn’t be used as a (basic) book on statistical measures, but as a book for understanding the underlying concepts needed to determine the quality of psychological measures, and in turn what the results of these measures mean for research. The authors do a tremendous job of explaining an entire array of abstract concepts by using simple examples and analysing statistical formulas. The book is comprehensive and succinct because of this, making it a great academic read.
It’s meant for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses, with which I have to agree. It asks for a more advanced understanding of certain statistical topics than introductory or basic books, and I personally found it to be a tremendous read as I, after reading it, finally had the idea that I properly understood psychometric matters such as validity and reliability.
June 3, 2020
It's a bit repetitive, but a well explained introduction to psychometrics
March 9, 2015
great explanations of a very complex area
May 1, 2017
It was about as good as you could get considering the topic.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews