In this book, the authors provide a cogent review of statistical and interpretive procedures that, in combination, can be used to reduce the likelihood that tests contain items that favor members of one gender, age, racial, or ethnic group over equally able members of another group, for reasons that are unrelated to the objectives and purposes of measurement. Such test items are said to be biased against the equally able members of the group that is not favored. The methods described and illustrated in this book have the potential to reducing the incidence of tests that are, in their construction, biased against members of one or more groups. These methods have the potential of controlling an important source of invalidity when test results are interpreted.
In this book, the authors provide a cogent review of statistical and interpretive procedures that, in combination, can be used to reduce the likelihood that tests contain items that favor members of one gender, age, racial, or ethnic group over equally able members of another group, for reasons that are unrelated to the objectives and purposes of measurement. Such test items are said to be biased against the equally able members of the group that is not favored. The methods described and illustrated in this book have the potential to reducing the incidence of tests that are, in their construction, biased against members of one or more groups. These methods have the potential of controlling an important source of invalidity when test results are interpreted.
Validity is a clear, substantive introduction to the two most fundamental aspects of defensible testing practice: understanding test score meaning and justifying test score use. Driven by evidence-based and consensus-grounded measurement theory, principles, and terminology, this book addresses the most common questions of applied validation, the quality of test information, and the usefulness of test results. Concise yet comprehensive, this volume’s integrated framework is ideal for graduate courses on assessment, testing, psychometrics, and research methods as well as for credentialing organizations, licensure and certification entities, education agencies, and test publishers.
The current volume, Advances in Latent Variable Mixture Models, contains chapters by all of the speakers who participated in the 2006 CILVR conference, providing not just a snapshot of the event, but more importantly chronicling the state of the art in latent variable mixture model research. The volume starts with an overview chapter by the CILVR conference keynote speaker, Bengt Muthén, offering a “lay of the land” for latent variable mixture models before the volume moves to more specific constellations of topics. Part I, Multilevel and Longitudinal Systems, deals with mixtures for data that are hierarchical in nature either due to the data’s sampling structure or to the repetition of measures (of varied types) over time. Part II, Models for Assessment and Diagnosis, addresses scenarios for making judgments about individuals’ state of knowledge or development, and about the instruments used for making such judgments. Finally, Part III, Challenges in Model Evaluation, focuses on some of the methodological issues associated with the selection of models most accurately representing the processes and populations under investigation. It should be stated that this volume is not intended to be a first exposure to latent variable methods. Readers lacking such foundational knowledge are encouraged to consult primary and/or secondary didactic resources in order to get the most from the chapters in this volume. Once armed with the basic understanding of latent variable methods, we believe readers will find this volume incredibly exciting.
From award-winning author Gregory J. Privitera and Lynn Ahlgrim-Delzell, Research Methods for Education covers the different quantitative and qualitative research methods specific to their use in educational research. This new text uses a problem-focused approach that fully integrates the decision tree—from choosing a research design to selecting an appropriate statistic for analysis. With a conversational, student-friendly writing style, and examples from a wide variety of education-related fields, the authors show how methods and statistics work together and enable the testing of hypotheses through use of the scientific method. Students will become informed consumers of research with the ability to understand a research article, judge its quality and apply the methods in action research to inform educational practice. Give your students the SAGE edge! SAGE edge offers a robust online environment featuring an impressive array of free tools and resources for review, study, and further exploration, keeping both instructors and students on the cutting edge of teaching and learning.
Reconciling the scientific principles of medicine with the love essential for meaningful care is not an easy task, but it is one that Gregory L. Fricchione performs masterfully in Compassion and Healing in Medicine and Society. At the core of this book is a thought-provoking analysis of the relationship between evolutionary science and neuroscience. Fricchione theorizes that the cries for attachment made by seriously ill patients reflect an underlying evolutionary tenet called the separation challenge–attachment solution process. The pleadings of patients, he explains, are verbal expressions of the history of evolution itself. By exploring the roots of a patient’s attachment needs, we come face to face with a critical component of natural selection and the evolutionary process. Medicine engages with the separation challenge–attachment solution process on many levels of scientific knowledge and human meaning and healing. Fricchione applies these concepts to medical care and encourages physicians to fully understand them so they can better treat their patients. Compassionate humanistic care promotes physical, emotional, and spiritual healing precisely because it is consonant with how life, the brain, and humanity have evolved. It is therefore not a luxury of modern medical care but an essential part of it. Fricchione advocates an attachment-based medical system, one in which physicians evaluate stress and resiliency and prescribe an integrative treatment plan for the whole person designed to accentuate the propensity to health. There is a wisdom or perennial philosophy based on compassionate love that, Fricchione stresses, the medical community must take advantage of in designing future health care—and society must appreciate as it faces its separation challenges.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.