Loewenthal - An introduction to psychological tests and scales

An introduction to
psychological tests and scales

2nd edition

In its first edition this book successfully enabled readers, with little or no prior knowledge of computing or statistics, to develop reliable and valid tests and scales for assessment or research purposes. In this edition, the author has thoroughly updated the text to include new recent advances in computer software and provide information on relevant internet resources. The book contains detailed guidelines for locating and constructing psychological measures, including descriptions of popular psychological measures and step-by-step instructions for composing a measure, entering data, and computing reliability and validity of test results. Advanced techniques such as factor analysis, analysis of covariance and multiple regression analysis are presented for the beginner.

An Introduction to Psychological Tests and Scales provides a clear, concise and jargon-free primer for all those embarking on field-work or research analysis. It will be an invaluable tool for undergraduates and postgraduates in psychology and a useful text for students and professionals in related disciplines.

Kate Loewenthal is Professor of Psychology at Royal Holloway College, University of London.

An introduction to
psychological tests and scales

2nd edition

Kate Miriam Loewenthal

Royal Holloway
University of London

First published 2001 by Psychology Press Ltd
27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Taylor & Francis Inc.,
711 Third Avenue, New York NY 10017

Psychology Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2001 Kate Miriam Loewenthal

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Loewenthal, Kate Miriam.
An introduction to psychological tests and scales / Kate Miriam
Loewenthal. 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-84169-106-2 ISBN 1-84169-139-9 (pbk.)
1. Psychological tests. I. Title.
BF176 164 2001

ISBN 978-1-84169-139-8 (pbk)

Cover design by Sandra Heath
Typeset in Times by Mayhew Typesetting, Rhayader, Powys

APPENDICES

Appendix to Chapter 1
Examples of test and scale presentation

Appendix to Chapter 2
Selecting tests

Appendix to Chapter 4
Ethical guidelines

Appendix to Chapter 5
Reliability

Appendix to Chapter 6
Computation and validity

It is extremely important for psychologists to have available to them adequate measuring instruments. In several areas of psychology (e.g., social psychology; personality; intelligence) these measuring instruments often take the form of psychological tests and scales. However, most of the authors of books dealing specifically with psychological test construction and evaluation assume that their readers possess great statistical expertise and considerable prior knowledge of psychology. In my experience, this is a dubious assumption to make about academic psychologists, and is wholly unwarranted so far as undergraduate students are concerned!

What Kate Loewenthal has attempted to do (and has succeeded admirably in doing) is to write a book on psychological tests and scales that is accessible and readily comprehensible by those lacking confidence in their understanding of statistics. This accessibility is achieved in part through the clarity and coherence of the writing style. It is also achieved by providing basic guidance on how to construct tests and evaluate their reliability and validity, rather than by focusing on complex and abstract statistical principles.

There are other ways in which Kate Loewenthals book makes a valuable and distinctive contribution. For example, the number of psychological tests is increasing almost on a daily basis, so that by now there must be several thousand tests available for use by psychologists. However, the key issue of how to find the test that one needs among this myriad of tests is ignored in most other books. Kate Loewenthal provides a number of eminently sensible suggestions as to ways of tracking down any given test.

In sum, Kate Loewenthal has done an outstanding job of producing a user-friendly account of what is involved in test construction and evaluation. All the stages of finding, choosing, and developing tests and scales are discussed carefully and in detail. As one would expect in this day and age, the book provides detailed instructions on the use of modern statistical software offering reliability and other relevant facilities. The only danger is that Kate Loewenthal may have made the task of test construction too easy for the thousands of readers who will read this book, as a consequence of which the steady trickle of new tests may turn into a downpour! However, that is a risk well worth taking for a book that will rapidly become an indispensable addition to the bookshelves of most psychologists and psychology students.

Michael W. Eysenck

This book aims to meet the need for an introductory text covering the basics of psychological test and scale construction. It should meet the initial needs of psychology undergraduates learning this aspect of research methods. The book could be used by other social scientists in research methods training. In addition, it opens the possibility that professionals in business and management who wish to develop tests and other instruments for selection, survey, or development purposes could use this book to achieve better standards of clarity, reliability, and validity.

The development of statistical packages incorporating a facility for measuring test reliability means that the important statistics needed for test development can be fairly easily carried out without having to spend too much time mastering basic statistics. This book is aimed at assisting in the use of computer software facilities for reliability analysis, particularly SPSS for Windows. It outlines the main stages in test and scale construction, and describes how to implement these.

There are several books on the market which deal with psycho-metricswhich is the theory and practice of psychological test construction. Almost all such books are unnecessarily detailed and too advanced for introductory undergraduate use, and cannot be recommended to the average undergraduate or other person who is seeking to grasp the basic principles of test construction. Although there are good, short research methods handbooks, there is no current basic handbook on psychometrics apart from Jackson (1996) and Kline (1986). The latter is excellent but now somewhat dated. The former does not offer guidance about test construction.

Throughout the book, the traditional terms test, scale, and measure have been used almost interchangeably. Nowadays the range of psychological states and constructs that is measured is widening the whole time, and the distinction between these test, scale, and measure may be harder to maintain than in the past.