Introduction
Exam Two covers materials presented in the PowerPoint presentations and class lectures. It contains two sections. In the first section, students will be asked to answer ten multiple-choice questions worth 2 points each. In the second section students will be asked to answer two short-answer questions worth 10 points each.
There will be room on the back of the exam to write responses to the short-answer essay questions. You may bring ruled paper if you prefer. Blue Books are not necessary.
Dr. Sapp's Office Hours are MWF, 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., or by appointment. Students are invited to come to the office at any time and I will be happy to discuss the class materials with you.
Readings:
Measurement of Abstract Concepts: PowerPoint
Indexes, Scales, Typologies: PowerPoint
Validity and Reliability: Web Site, PowerPoint
Class Notes.
Key Terms
Measurement
realism, nominalism, single and multiple indicators, dimensions, exploratory research, explanatory research, nominal, ordinal, and interval (continuous) levels of measurement, dimension, precision, accuracy.
Indexes, Scales, and Typologies
index, scale, weighting (of scales or indexes), item analysis, external validity, Thurstone, Likert, and Guttman scales, semantic differentials.
Validity and Reliability
content validity, construct validity, concurrent validity, predictive validity, history, maturation, cueing, Cronbach's alpha
Topics for the Short-Answer Essay Questions for Exam #2
- Be prepared to describe and state the advantages and disadvantages of these types of indexes and scales: Thurstone, Likert, Guttman.
- Be prepared to describe the test-retest, alternative forms, and split-half approaches to estimating reliability. Be prepared to describe the advantages and disadvantages of each approach.
- Be prepared to describe the internal consistency approach to estimating reliability (Cronbach's alpha). What are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach? Describe a proposed solution to resolving a limitation of Cronbach's alpha. Why does the community of scholars continue to use Cronbach's alpha to assess reliability when a seemingly logical solution exists to overcome a disadvantage of using it?
- Be prepared to describe non-empirical (i.e., content) validity and three forms of empirical validity. Be prepared to describe why evaluations of empirical validity might fail to show acceptable content validity.
- Suppose Dr. Sapp states this hypothesis: "the greater the self-esteem the greater the job satisfaction." Dr. Sapp has measured self-esteem and job satisfaction as constructs (i.e., variables measured with two or more indicators). Dr. Sapp's hypothesis is not supported (i.e., the null hypothesis is not rejected). Describe four reasons for why this hypothesis might have failed.
Help Session
Wednesday, September 30th, 5:00pm to 6:00pm, First Floor of East Hall.
