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Module Specifications..

Current Academic Year 2023 - 2024

Please note that this information is subject to change.

Module Title Psychological Measurement & Assessment
Module Code PSYC205
School 37
Module Co-ordinatorSemester 1: Aoife McNicholl
Semester 2: Aoife McNicholl
Autumn: Aoife McNicholl
Module TeachersAoife McNicholl
NFQ level 8 Credit Rating 5
Pre-requisite None
Co-requisite None
Compatibles None
Incompatibles None
Repeat examination
Description

To introduce the student to psychological measurement and assessment and to the principles and procedures used to estimate and evaluate the attributes of psychological tests.

Learning Outcomes

1. Discuss the principles of psychological measurement and psychometrics
2. Apply these principles to the development of a reliable and valid measure of a psychological construct
3. Discuss the psychometric adequacy of a psychological measure.
4. Discuss the ethical and professional issues in psychological assessment
5. Discuss emerging approaches to measurement and assessment.



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
Lecture12Indicative syllabus
Laboratory18Development of measurement scale
Directed learning12Guided practical preparation activities and online activities
Assignment Completion32Preparation, writing of practical (background, method, results and discussion)
Independent Study51Self directed reading
Total Workload: 125

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Importance of psychological measurement, psychometrics and assessment

Concepts in psychological measurement
Constructs, measurement theory, levels of measurement, scaling, digital phenotyping, datafication of behaviour, data analytics

Classical test theory

Reliability: Types of reliability – internal consistency, test-retest, inter-rater reliability

Validity: Types of validity – face, content, construct, convergent and discriminant validity

Test design: Basic issues, measuring psychological constructs, types of psychological tests

Bias: Response bias and test bias

Measuring intelligence and personality

Introduction to Item Response Theory and Rasch models

Measurement and assessment innovation using big data, sensing methods, machine learning and algorithm based approaches

Ethical, societal and professional issues

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment50% Examination Weight50%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
Report(s)Laboratory Report50%n/a
Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories;
1 = A resit is available for all components of the module
2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module
3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
This module is category 1
Indicative Reading List

  • Coaley, K.: 2014, An Introduction to Psychological Assessment and Measurement, Sage, London,
  • Baker, F.B., Kim S.H.: 2017, The Basics of Item Response Theory Using R, Springer,
  • Cohen, R. J., & Werdlik, M. E.: 2017, Psychological Testing and Assessment, 9th, McGraw-Hill, Maidenhead.,
  • Cooper, C.: 2012, Intelligence and Abilities, Taylor & Francis Group, Abingdon, 978-0415188692
  • Furr, R. M.: 2011, Scale Construction and Psychometrics for Social and Personality Psychology, Sage, London,
  • Furr, R. M., & Bacharach, V. R.: 2018, Psychometrics: An Introduction, 3rd, Sage, Los Angelos,
  • Goldfinger, K.: 2019, Psychological testing in everyday life: history, science, and practice, Sage, Los Angelos,
  • Groth-Marnat, G. Wright, A.J.: 2016, Handbook of psychological assessment, 6th ed., John Wiley and Sons, New Jersey, USA,
  • Lund, N.: 2010, Intelligence and Learning, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 978-0230249448
  • Maire, P.: 2018, Modern Psychometrics with R, Springer,
  • Miller LA, Lovler RL: 2019, Foundations of Psychological Testing: A Practical Approach, 6th, Sage Publications,
  • Rust, J., & Golombok, S.: 2008, Modern Psychometrics: The Science of Psychological Assessment, Routledge, London, 978-0415442152
Other Resources

None
Programme or List of Programmes
BPDTBSc Psychology & Disruptive Technologies
BPMBSc in Psychology with Mathematics
BPYBSc (Honours) in Psychology
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