This study examined the construct validity of the "e-rater"® automated essay scoring engine as an alternative to human scoring in the context of TOEFL® essay writing. Analyses were based on a sample of students who repeated the TOEFL within a short time period. Two "e-rater" scores were investigated in this study, the first…

Valid measurement of physical activity is important for studying the risks for morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to examine evidence of construct validity of two similar single-response items assessing physical activity via self-report. Both items are based on the stages of change model. The sample was 687 participants (men =…

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to examine the construct and predictive ability of a German version of the Learning Transfer Systems Inventory (GLTSI), an instrument designed to assess a constellation of 16 factors known to influence the transfer of training in work settings. Design/methodology/approach: The survey data for this study was…

Personal responsibility has long been considered an important component in self-directed learning. And yet, a theoretical understanding of personal responsibility that could lead to meaningful instrumentation has eluded the field. The present study considers the merits of the Triangle Model of Responsibility (TMR) (Schlenker, Britt, Pennington,…

This study examined the structure, distribution, and correlates of a new measure of self-reported callous-unemotional (CU) traits in 1,443 adolescents (774 boys, 669 girls) between the ages of 13 to 18 years. The Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits was subjected to exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Exploratory…

The development of the DETECT procedure marked an important advancement in nonparametric dimensionality analysis. DETECT is the first nonparametric technique to estimate the number of dimensions in a data set, estimate an effect size for multidimensionality, and identify which dimension is predominantly measured by each item. The efficacy of…

The 12-item short form of the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ-SF) was originally developed by Bryant and Smith (2001) and modified and confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis with mentally ill offenders by Diamond, Wang, and Buffington-Vollum (2005). In the current study, construct validity of the BPAQ-SF was assessed with a sample…

Reliance on subjective grant proposal review methods leads private philanthropies to underfund mental health programs, even when foundations have mental health focuses. This article describes a private mental health foundation's efforts to increase the objectivity of its proposal review process by developing a reliable, valid proposal rating form.…

Background: The "Service Need Assessment Profile" (SNAP) measures individual functional needs in areas of daily living. It produces a support profile, detailing the time allocations for staff support to assist in each area of need. The "Supports Intensity Scale" (SIS) is a support needs assessment scale designed to provide an…

What C-tests actually measure has been an issue of debate for many years. In the present research, the authors examined the hypothesis that C-tests measure general language proficiency. A total of 843 participants from four independent samples took a German C-test along with the TestDaF (Test of German as a Foreign Language). Rasch measurement…

Because of increased stress conditions in college students, updated psychometrics of the Perceived Stress Scale, 10-item version (PSS-10; S. Cohen & G. Williamson, 1988) are necessary. Participants were 281 undergraduates at 3 public universities. An exploratory factor analysis revealed a 2-factor structure measuring Perceived Helplessness and…

This paper describes the development and validation of measures of students' and teachers' perceptions of the extent to which their school is a community. Community, in this instance, focuses on the quality of social relationships in the school. The development of measures of school community is reported, and the construct validity of these…

A modification of the Family Adaptation Scale of Antonovsky and Sourani (1988), was developed for assessing the adaptation of ministers' families. A sample of 317 individuals (ministers, spouses, and children aged 8 to 18) from 135 protestant ministers' families was used to test the scale. The self-report questionnaire was tested for internal…

Expectancy-valence models are used most in the field of motivational psychology. However, teachers' motivation had not been studied by these models and only limited research exists assessing the expectancy and the valence constructs. This study's aim was to examine preservice teachers' and practicing teachers' motivation by the expectancy-valence…

Numerous career interest measures are available. Information on one such career inventory, the Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI) is presented here. The instrument is a self-administered assessment and intervention tool designed to provide a measure of dysfunctional thinking in career problem solving and decision making. The inventory is intended for…