Overview

This unit provides students with an understanding of the fundamentals of psychological measurement. Students will gain familiarity with the general process of developing psychological scales, including a variety of measurement methods and administration formats. The unit will also address topics in basic psychometric theory, including reliability, validity, and norms. Students will be given the opportunity to develop professionally relevant skills and experience in the selection, construction and evaluation of psychological tests and measures.

Requisites

Prerequisites
STA20006 Analysis of Variance and Regression
PSY20006 Cognition and Human Performance

Rules

STA20006 - Analysis of Variance and Regression

AND

PSY20006 - Cognition and Human Performance

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Semester 1
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
01-March-2027
30-May-2027
Last self-enrolment date
14-March-2027
Census date
30-March-2027
Last withdraw without fail date
20-April-2027
Results released date
06-July-2027

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
 
  1. Evaluate the characteristics of high-quality psychological measures and justify the usefulness and appropriateness of specific instruments for particular assessment purposes.
  2. Critically analyse the processes involved in the development of psychological measures and design a program for the development and validation of a new measure.
  3. Calculate, interpret, and critically evaluate statistical indices relevant to the development and assessment of psychological scales, and communicate findings in accordance with professional standards.
  4. Compare and critically evaluate a range of measurement formats and methods, appraising their respective strengths, limitations, and suitability for different applications.
  5. Design and apply effective Generative AI prompts and critically integrate and evaluate AI-generated outputs within assessment tasks.
  6. Apply professional values and ethical principles for culturally appropriate psychological assessment and measurement.

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Activity Type Activity Total Hours Number of Weeks Hours Per Week
On-campus Lecture 12 12 weeks 1
On-campus Class 24 12 weeks 2
Specified Activities Various 24 12 weeks 2
Unspecified Activities Various 90 12 weeks 7.5
Total Hours: 150 Total Hours (per week): 12.5

Swinburne Online

Activity Type Activity Total Hours Number of Weeks Hours Per Week
Live Online Class 13 13 week 1
Online Directed Online Learning and Independent Learning 137 13 week 10.54
Total Hours: 150 Total Hours (per week): 11.54

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
Report 1 Individual  40%  1,2,5 
Report 2 Individual  50%  1,2,3,4 
Test Individual  10%  1,3,4,6

Content

  • Theories and methods for psychological measurement
  • Fundamentals of test construction
  • Methods for evaluating the properties and quality of tests
  • Administration and scoring of tests
  • Cultural appropriateness and sensitivity
  • Professional and ethical issues in psychological measurement and research
  • Graduate Attribute – Communication Skills: Communicating using different media
  • Graduate Attribute – Digital Literacies: Information literacy
  • Graduate Attribute – Digital Literacies: Technical literacy

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.