To test the general reliability and validity of the Triangulation Interview Form (TIF), 52 observers viewed a videotape simulation of an interview situation. Agreement among observers for each of 16 TIF questions ranged from 85 to 98 percent. Observers significantly discriminated between eight behaviors judged complete and eight behaviors judged…

Investigated the reliability, validity, and factor structure of the standard 21-item and short 13-item forms of the Beck Depression Inventory. The sample consisted of 163 participants in a methadone maintenance program. Results support the use of the short form as a reliable and valid brief screening measure of depression. (Author)

Two senior GCE examiners re-marked photocopies of the same 200 GCE examination scripts, half still containing the marks and comments of the original examiners and half with these markings removed. Removing previous markings made a considerable difference to the extent of agreement between these sets of marks. (Editor/SJL)

Results indicate that there is an implicit theory of leadership that encourages individuals to choose to remain committed to a dubious course of action because the opportunity to receive a positive evaluation is greater with consistency than with experimentation. (Author/IRT)

Suicide rates of college and university populations are found to be lower than sex-matched comparison groups based on the 20 to 24-year-old population. (JMF)

Among the conclusions are that the centralization scales are reliable and valid, that the rule observation scale is reliable but does not have as high a degree of discriminant validity as the centralization scale, and that the task routineness scale is reliable and valid but limited. (Author/IRT)

Results indicate that the scale is psychometrically sound and has discriminant validity in relation to the Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory Sex Guilt subscale. The clinical implications of distinguishing between sexual anxiety and sexual guilt are discussed. (Author)

Reports that the McCall-Crabbs Standard Test Lessons in Reading were never sufficiently standardized to justify their widespread use as the basis for readability formulae. (DD)

Over 200 published and unpublished studies on Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), currently a popular outcome evaluation technique in the social sciences, were critically reviewed. While the evaluative utility of GAS is questionable, its usefulness as an educational and intervention technique seems good. (Author/JKS)

The paper describes the small sample stability of least square estimates of variance components within the context of generalizability theory. Monte Carlo methods are used to generate data conforming to some selected multifacet generalizability designs to illustrate the sampling behavior of variance component estimates. (Author/CTM)

Offers suggestions for proper procedures for authors to use--and some pitfalls to avoid--when writing studies using factor analysis methods. Discusses distinctions among different methods of analysis, the adequacy of factor structure, and other notes of caution. Encourages authors to ensure that their research is statistically sound. (RJM)

The reliability of a gain is determined by the reliabilities of the components, the correlation between them, and their standard deviations. Reliability is not inherently low, but the components of gains in many investigations make low reliability likely and require caution in the use of gain scores. (SLD)

The critiques by L. Collins and L. Humphreys in this issue illustrate problems with the use of gain scores. Collins' examples show that familiar formulas for the reliability of differences do not reflect the precision of measures of change. Additional examples demonstrate flaws in the conventional approach to reliability. (SLD)

The Aiken Attitude to Mathematics Scale (L. Aiken, 1974, 1979) was administered to 430 adult students in a tertiary preparation program, and the factorial validity of the scale was investigated through exploratory factor analysis. Two factors were extracted with high reliabilities, as opposed to Aiken's four-factor structure. (SLD)