Biology education worldwide at different levels involves learning to identify plants and animals in nature. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a teaching and learning method for bird identification that combines active outdoor fieldwork with active online learning, testing the validity of our instrument. Altogether, 798…

In this study, the literature in disability and higher education was examined, with a specific focus on assessment instruments. Published articles (n = 203) on development of new or refinement of existing instruments were reviewed for traits measured and psychometric rigor reported. Findings showed instruments are intended for professionals and…

As with other countries, Australia has been grappling with the identification, measurement and impact of disadvantage in higher education. In particular, the measurement of socio-economic status (SES) has been of central concern. The immediate solution in Australia has been the introduction of an "area" measure in which students' SES is…

The results of this study comparing cloze test performances by plagiarists and non-plagiarists indicated substantial differences in error rates for these two groups. The data support the original hypothesis that the cloze procedure may be used as a valid and sensitive measure for discriminating plagiarists and non-plagiarists. (Author/BW)

Reports on the use of a screening instrument for dissociative behaviors in two separate but related studies. Results of a concurrent validity study between the Child Dissociative Checklist (CDC) and the Child Behavior Checklist indicate significant, positive correlations. A second study found that parent-completed CDC scores differentiate between…

Investigates internal dimensions of the Organizational Identification Questionnaire, performing factorial analytic tests of cross-sectional and longitudinal data. Finds that it is unidimensional across organizations and time, but that only 12 of 25 items contribute meaningfully to the scale, and that these 12 items essentially constitute an…

The Suinn-Lew Asian Self Identity Acculturation Scale (SL-ASIA) is modeled after a successful scale for Hispanics. Initial reliability and validity data are reported for two samples of Asian subjects from two states. (Author/BS)

Examined the construct validity of the Racial Identity Attitude Scale, an instrument designed to measure attitudes consistent with the four stages of Cross's (1971) Negro-to-Black conversion experience. Found strong support for Cross's pre-encounter, immersion-emersion, and internalization stages, and little support for the construct of encounter…

Two studies evaluated items developed for the Attitudes Toward Multiracial Children Scale. Researchers administered the scale to diverse college students, revised it, then administered it again. The scale's psychometric properties were such that the instrument could be used to research adults' attitudes regarding psychosocial development of…

Racial identity attitude has become a popular research topic. Primary purposes of this study were twofold: (a) assessing the effects of college environment on racial identity attitudes and then (b) the effects of environment and racial identity attitude on African American men's body size preferences regarding women. Using weighted scale scores,…

The Inventory of Learning Processes (ILP) was developed by Schmeck, Ribich, and Ramanaiah in 1977 as a self-report inventory to assess learning style through a behavioral-oriented approach. The ILP was revised by Schmeck in 1983. The Revised ILP contains six scales: (1) Deep Processing; (2) Elaborative Processing; (3) Shallow Processing; (4)…

The validity of Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) Verbal-Mathematical discrepancies as indicators of college learning disability (LD) was assessed for four groups of LD students (Total N about 5000) taking different test formats. Comparison with non-LD student scores indicated no evidence of larger discrepancies for the LD groups. (Author/DB)

The adequacy of the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery, Part II: Tests of Achievement, for identifying and diagnosing learning disabled college students was examined using 68 subjects. Results indicated that ceiling effects were less pervasive than with regular college students. Cluster and subtest reliabilities proved adequate for use in…

The ability of the "fake good" indicators on the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4 (PDQ-4) (S. Hyler, 1994) for "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" Axis II disorders was studied with 99 college students. Overall classification rates of the validity scales of the PDQ-4 were too low for clinical use. (SLD)

Four experiments were performed to validate the newly developed Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM). Results with 475 community-dwelling adults and young adults and 161 neurologically impaired people in three experiments and a fourth experiment involving 41 college students show the promise of the TOMM for detecting exaggerated or faked memory…