ECD 560 Lecture Notes Class 4

  1. Data Collection
  2. How can info be obtained
  3. Measures
  4. standardized or nonstandardized
  5. standardized – administered and scored in a standardized way
  6. normed – given initially to representative sample
  7. variables can be: region of country, gender, SES, race or ethnicity, or nature of problem
  8. nonstandardized – general description of how one person answered
  9. questionnaire
  10. interview
  11. case studies
  12. record review
  1. structured or nonstructured
  2. structured – provide the same stimulus to each subject and the same set of possible responses
  3. nonstructured – allow both subject and observer to make changes during the process
  4. semistructured
  1. cognitive or noncognitive
  2. cognitive – measure the knowledge, learning ands skill of a subject
  3. achievement (past) assess past learning
  4. SAT
  5. ability (present) assess present capability
  6. intelligence tests
  7. specialized abilities – eye hand movement
  8. neurological
  9. aptitude (future) assess future learning
  1. noncognitive – measure attributes other than knowledge such as beliefs, preferences, and attitudes
  2. general personality
  3. 16PF
  4. psychopathology
  5. MMPI
  6. Rorschach
  7. Millon
  1. Specialized
  2. specific interest to researcher
  3. career interest
  4. Strong
  5. SDS
  1. Where can I get the info I need
  2. Existing records – sources of data that have already been collected for reasons other than the researcher’s reasons.
  3. readily available
  4. frequently lack all variables desired
  1. Collecting new data
  2. most common
  3. allows for all variables generated by research question
  1. Where can I get info about tests
  2. Mental measurements yearbook
  1. Nonstandard data collection methods
  2. Questionnaires & Surveys
  3. Behavioural Observations
  4. Sociometric Methods – interpersonal as well as intrapersonal
  5. Interviews
  1. Concerns Related to Selecting and Developing a Test
  2. Reliability – degree of consistency of scores over repeated testing
  3. Observed test score = true score + error
  4. higher reliability coefficient = lower standard error of measurement
  5. Sources of Error
  6. length of test
  7. homogeneous examinees
  8. item difficulty
  9. number of alternatives
  10. test-retest – correlation b/w successive administrations
  11. alternate forms – correlation between 2 successively administered forms of same test
  12. internal consistency – consistency of one administration by looking at parts of test
  13. interrater reliability – two examiners assess same score independently
  1. Validity – degree to which the test measures what it purports to measure
  2. Face validity – reasonable way to measure the construct
  3. Content validity – extent to which the behaviors being measured are judged to represent the construct
  4. Predictive validity – extent test correlates with some future behavior
  5. Construct validity – how well the test measures the construct it purports to measure (correlation coefficient)
  6. Usability – refers to the degree the measure is practical in use
  7. Developing a Test
  8. Item Format
  9. Open-ended
  10. Dichotomous Choice
  11. Forced Choice
  12. Scaled Choice (likert)
  1. Cultural Factors Related to Research
  2. Defining and Identifying Cultural Groups
  3. Race – physical attributes of a group of people and is subdivided into Caucasoid, Negroid, and Mongoloid
  4. Nationality – country of origin
  5. Ethnicity – common ancestry and cultural heritage and encompasses customs, values, beliefs, and behaviours.
  6. PC’s – keep in mind terms of choice by populations you are working with.
  1. Multicultural Approach to Research – how to avoid methodological factors that reduce the effectiveness of research
  2. Cultural Encapsulation – occurs when people depend entirely on their own values and assumptions and define reality through those cultural assumptions and stereotypes.
  3. Whether insider or outsider
  4. Some assumptions that promote Cultural Encapsulation
  5. everyone shares a single measure of what constitutes normal behaviour
  6. individuals are the basic building blocks of society
  7. abstract words and concepts can be used that everyone will understand in the same way
  8. we assume that we are culturally aware and that we already know what all of our assumptions are.
  9. Overemphasizing Between-Group Differences – without noting the similarities between groups or within group differences.
  10. Neglecting SocioEconomic Variables (power, prestige, money, privilege)
  1. Cultural Variables: Implications for Cross-Cultural Research
  2. Collectivism vs Individualism
  3. Collectivism – welfare of group over that of the individual, interdependence, influenced by others
  4. Individualism – independence, person rather than group objectives, competition for resources
  5. Can impact selection into sample, interaction with researcher, researcher assessment of beliefs, etc.
  6. Communication Style
  7. Keep aware that what is considered appropriate in one culture is rude in another. Determine if approach is appropriate.
  8. Time Orientation
  9. Keep aware of differences and explain what you are looking for thoroughly if needed a chronology
  10. Summary of Cultural Variables
  11. Intersection of Discourses
  1. Measurement in Multicultural Research
  2. Nonequivalence of instruments can limit the internal validity of cross-cultural research.
  3. Translation of Instruments
  4. Need not only mastery of language, but look for cultural references and find equivalents.
  5. Back-Translation of Instruments
  6. Same thing, only in reverse.
  7. Establishing Equivalence of Instruments
  8. Field test
  9. Assess reliability
  10. Interpretation
  1. Gathering Data
  2. Personal versus Impersonal Approach
  3. Using Culturally Similar Research Aides
  4. Speaking the language of the subject
  5. Knowing the Culture of the Subjects
  1. Becoming a Culturally Skilled Researcher
  2. Benets Model for Development of Cultural Sensitivity.
  3. 6 stage model for development of cultural sensitivity.
  4. Denial – assumptions about normal behavior made from own cultural framework w/o taking cultural relativity into account
  1. Defense – cultural differences are conceptualized as pathological because they deviate from researcher’s definition of normal.
  1. Minimization – recognition of cultural differences and a beginning awareness that own assumptions may have limited relevance in different cultures; however, researcher continues to rely on encapsulated research measures and methods.
  1. Acceptance – begin to challenge their assumptions and consider alternate constructs.
  1. Adaptation – researcher can validate cultural differences and perceive the world from a different cultural perspective.
  1. Integration – researcher can recognize between-group and within-group differences and similarities and can understand and appreciate diversity.