An increased focus on transparency and replication in science has stimulated reform in research practices and dissemination. As a result, the research culture is changing: the use of preregistration is on the rise, access to data and materials is increasing, and large-scale replication studies are more common. In this article, I discuss two…

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has profoundly reshaped how graduate students conceptualise, design and conduct academic research in higher education. While current metrics predominantly focus on technology acceptance and usage patterns, they often neglect the diverse cognitive engagements in graduate students' integration of GenAI…

Structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews are often used in mixed method studies to generate confirmatory results despite differences in methods of data collection, analysis, and interpretation. A review of 19 questionnaire-interview comparison studies found that consensus and consistency statistics were generally weak between…

Developed an instrument to measure the aerobic exercise equipment preference of a frail older population and applied many-facet Rasch analysis to study construct validity and equipment preferences. Results for 16 participants show the usefulness of many-facet Rasch analysis in guiding instrument revision. (SLD)

A validation strategy is proposed for professional licensure tests after reviewing arguments for incorporating a theory of professions into the test development process. Components of such a theory are described, and a methodology is proposed for licensure test design that balances the concepts of content and construct validation. (SLD)

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)

By definition, differential item functioning (DIF) refers to unequal probabilities of a correct response to a test item by examinees from two groups when controlled for their ability differences. Simulation results are presented for an attempt to purify a test by separating out multidimensional items under the assumption that the intent of the…

The development and tryout of an instrument designed to measure college students' attitudes toward alcohol demonstrate the utility of Guttman's facet analysis for developing and validating instruments. Findings from the survey, administered to 1,049 students, support the construct validity of the instrument. (SLD)

H. W. Marsh's monograph (1987) on students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness in higher education is summarized. The research, which emphasized the construct validity approach, led to the development of the Students' Evaluations of Educational Quality (SEEQ) instrument. Factor analysis resulted in identification of nine SEEQ factors--learning…

The original Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) have been among the most popular measures of performance and aptitude of infants. In this study, the construct validity of scores on the Behavior Rating Scale of the revised Bayley Scales, the BSID-II, was investigated using national standardization and clinical samples of children ranging in…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factor structure of a Factors Influencing Pursuit of Higher Education (FIPHE) Questionnaire which addresses factors influencing a person's decision to pursue higher education. Researchers used a literature-based, rational factors approach to develop the questionnaire; the three-part study included a…