Question 1

Typically, when items are added to a scale, it decreases the reliability.

Accepted Answer

Typically, adding items to a scale increases its reliability because it tends to average out individual item variability, leading to a more consistent measure of the construct being assessed.

Question 2

Administering a scale known to be a valid measure of a certain concept, along with a new scale intending to measure the same concept, and finding that the scores correlate is a way to establish __________________ validity.

Accepted Answer

Concurrent validity is established when two measures, one of which is a new scale and the other a well-established scale known to validly measure the same concept, are administered at the same time and the scores are found to correlate. This suggests that the new scale is also a valid measure of the concept.

Question 3

When each item within a scale is examined to see how well they correlate with the other items as a whole, this is a test for _____________________.

Accepted Answer

Examining how well each item within a scale correlates with the other items as a whole is a test of internal consistency. Criterion validity involves comparing a measure to an external criterion, face validity refers to whether a measure appears to measure what it is intended to measure, and statistical significance indicates whether a relationship or difference is likely to have occurred by chance.

Question 4

When deciding on the measurement instrument to use, what is the first consideration?

Accepted Answer

The answer of When deciding on the measurement instrument to...

Question 5

If a measure is found to be valid by empirical evidence, then it can be assumed that it is also reliable.

Accepted Answer

Validity refers to how well a test measures what it is supposed to measure, while reliability refers to the consistency of the test results. If a measure is valid (accurately measures the concept it intends to measure), it implies that it produces consistent results under consistent conditions, hence also indicating reliability. However, it's important to note that a measure can be reliable without being valid, but validity typically encompasses some level of reliability.

Question 6

Even if an instrument is objective, an evaluator cannot determine the magnitude of a client's problems with any amount of precision.

Accepted Answer

Objective instruments are designed to measure specific variables with precision, and when used correctly, an evaluator can determine the magnitude of a client's problems accurately based on the instrument's results.

Question 7

When experts are asked to review an instrument to determine if the entire range of the concept is represented in the items, this is done to establish ___________________.

Accepted Answer

Reviewing an instrument to determine if the entire range of the concept is represented in the items is a process of content validity. Content validity refers to the extent to which an instrument measures all aspects of a particular concept or construct. It is important to establish content validity to ensure that the instrument accurately represents the concept being measured. Criterion validity, construct validity, and concurrent validity are different types of validity that assess different types of instrument accuracy.

Question 8

Developing an alternative version of the scale and administering it to a group similar to those in the group completing the original instrument, then determining if the versions correlate with each other, is known as which technique for measuring internal consistency?

Accepted Answer

Parallel forms reliability involves developing two versions of a measure that are equivalent in content and difficulty, administering them to the same group of individuals, and then correlating the scores from the two versions to determine the level of internal consistency. This technique is often used to reduce the effects of practice or familiarity that may occur with test-retest reliability, and to assess whether the measure is consistent regardless of the specific items used.

Question 9

Behavioral data can be obtained through client self-monitoring.

Accepted Answer

Clients can keep track of their behaviors and report them through self-monitoring, which is a valuable source of behavioral data for therapists and researchers.

Question 10

______________ validity is concerned with the theoretical relationship of the scale to other variables and involves testing the presumed relationships and hypotheses.

Accepted Answer

Construct validity is concerned with the theoretical relationship of the scale to other variables and involves testing the presumed relationships and hypotheses, making it the best choice. Content validity is concerned with the representativeness of the items on a scale of the construct being measured. Criterion validity is concerned with the correlation between the scale and an external criterion. Concurrent validity is concerned with the correlation between the scale and a criterion measured at the same time.

Question 11

An instrument is reliable when it measures what it was designed to measure.

Accepted Answer

An instrument is considered valid when it measures what it was designed to measure; reliability refers to the consistency of the instrument's measurements over time.

Question 12

When an instrument measures the concept for which it was designed, it is said to be __________________________.

Accepted Answer

A reliable instrument consistently gives the same result, but a valid instrument measures what it is intended to measure. Therefore, a valid instrument is necessary for accurate research measurements.

Question 13

When a questionnaire is ____________________________, that means it consistently and dependably measures the concept accurately.

Accepted Answer

Reliability in the context of a questionnaire refers to the consistency and dependability of the measurement. If a questionnaire is reliable, it means that it consistently measures a concept in the same way each time it is used under the same conditions.

Question 14

When a scale is found to be consistent after it is administered to the same group of participants repeated times, this is a demonstration of what type of reliability?

Accepted Answer

Test-retest reliability measures the consistency of a scale when administered to the same group of participants at different times. Therefore, when a scale is found to be consistent after it is administered to the same group of participants repeated times, it is a demonstration of test-retest reliability.

Question 15

Data collected for program evaluation that involves observations, interviews or making judgments and involves more than one person assigning the ratings independently must build in measures of which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Inter-rater reliability is the extent to which different raters or evaluators produce consistent ratings or judgments of the same phenomena, and is crucial when data is collected through observations, interviews, or judgments. Having more than one person assign the ratings independently and measuring the agreement among them helps to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the data, avoiding biases or idiosyncratic views that could affect the evaluation results. Construct validity refers to the extent to which a measurement tool or assessment captures the construct or theoretical concept it intends to measure, and is more related to the quality of the tool itself than to the data collected. Internal consistency and test-retest, on the other hand, are measures of the reliability of a measurement tool or assessment over time or across items or sections of the same assessment, and are less related to the evaluation of the program as a whole.

Question 16

Examining the number of tickets received while also looking at a score on an instrument rating driving skill is an example of working to establish what kind of validity?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of criterion validity because it is examining the relationship between the driving skill score (the predictor) and the number of tickets received (the criterion).

Quiz 11: Measurement Tools and Strategies