Poor construct definition has characterized research on virtue, beginning with Hartshorne and May's honesty studies and continuing to the present. Recently, scholars have begun to define virtues in ways that improve the prospects for measuring virtue constructs, but a coordinated, programmatic approach is necessary for success in virtue…

Instrument refinement refers to any set of procedures designed to improve an instrument's representation of a construct. Five objectives of instrument refinement are discussed, and instrument refinement practices are reviewed in a discussion of its role in the process of developing theory and sharpening construct definition. (SLD)

In recent years, many psychological constructs with associated measures have been proposed for educational research and the evaluation of educational programs. Among the most interesting and potentially useful are those reflecting motivational and volitional aspects of human behavior, the conative constructs. Among the conative constructs are…