Instrument Development in the Affective Domain: School and Corporate Applications

317 Pages·2013·4.64 MB·English

by  D. Betsy McCoach

D. Betsy McCoach
Robert K. Gable
John P. Madura
Instrument
Development
in the Affective
Domain
School and Corporate Applications
3rd Edition
Instrument Development in the Affective Domain
D. Betsy McCoach Robert K. Gable
•
John P. Madura
Instrument Development
in the Affective Domain
School and Corporate Applications
Third Edition
123
D.BetsyMcCoach RobertK.Gable
JohnP.Madura Alan ShawnFeinstein Graduate School
Department of Educational Psychology Johnson&Wales University
Universityof Connecticut Providence,RI
Storrs,CT USA
USA
ISBN 978-1-4614-7134-9 ISBN 978-1-4614-7135-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-7135-6
SpringerNewYorkHeidelbergDordrechtLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2013934719
(cid:2)SpringerScience?BusinessMediaNewYork2013
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To my Siegles: Del, Jessica, and Del
D. B. M.
To my loving wife and family: Kathe, Rick,
and Kathe
R. K. G.
To Whitney, Ethan (JEM) and Maeve
(Maeveen)
J. P. M.
Foreword
Therehasbeenlongstandinginterestinaffectivecharacteristicsinbotheducational
and corporate environments. While each domain has produced its own set of
theoristsandresearchers,theworkofsome,suchasBandura,hasfoundaplacein
theliteratureofbothareas.Ineachofthesesettings,theoristsandresearchershave
agreed on the causal connections between such constructs as self-efficacy and
perceived satisfactionand success,whetherthat successis measured by academic
achievement or corporate quality and performance resulting in profitability.
Along with this interest, comes the need for the development of valid and
reliable instruments to assess affective characteristics. It is clear that no matter
whether your interest lies in the relationship between self-efficacy and academic
success or employee satisfaction and corporate success, it is essential that the
instrumentsusedbecarefullydesignedandtestedtoassurethattheyaremeasuring
what they are intended to measure in a consistent manner. This work offers the
theoretical perspective, modern psychometric techniques, real examples, and data
needed to enable the instrument developer to produce such valid and reliable
instruments.
While the development process changes very little as one goes from the edu-
cationaltothecorporatedomain,theinclusioninthiseditionofspecificcorporate-
based theories and research examples as a complement to the academic-based
examples greatly enhances the relevance of this book for those of us concerned
with the effects of affective variables in the workplace. For anyone involved with
thedevelopmentofinstrumentstomeasurethesevariables,thisbookshouldprove
a necessary resource. With today’s emphasis on quality, this book provides the
road map and background to accomplish measurement with the certitude that
quality demands.
Joseph W. Keilty
Former Executive, Vice-President
Quality and Human Resources
American Express Company
vii
Preface
Over 20 years ago, Bob Gable (and Marian Wolf) authored the second edition of
Instrument Development in the Affective Domain, and it quickly became a
cherishedbookforresearchersineducation,business,andthesocialscienceswho
needed to create multi-item self-report instruments. Five years later, a much
youngerBetsyMcCoachenrolledinBobGable’sinstrumentdesigncourse,andit
changed her life forever. Falling in love with latent variables and structural
equation modeling in the fall (thanks to Dave Kenny) and the measurement of
affective constructs in the spring (thanks to Bob Gable!), Betsy spent 15 years
engaging in teaching, researching, and applying these techniques to the develop-
ment of affective instruments. After Bob Gable retired from the University of
Connecticut, Betsy continued to teach his legendary instrument design course,
each year adding additional material (much to the dismay of her graduate stu-
dents!). The revision of this book grew out of Betsy and Bob’s respective
instrumentdesigncoursesandprojectsoverthelastdecade,andBetsywasthrilled
when Bob agreed to collaborate on a long overdue revision of the classic. In the
spring of 2011, a first year graduate student entered Betsy’s instrument design
class,justasshehadenteredBob’sclassadozenyearsbefore.Johndevelopedthe
samepassionforlatentvariablesandinstrumentationthatBobandBetsyhad,and
soon after, he became the third of the collaborators on this new edition of
InstrumentDevelopmentintheAffectiveDomain.Thus,thisbookrepresentsthree
generations of Instrument Design: a professor, her mentor, and her mentee. Our
goal was to capture some of the magic of the instrument design course and
package it, with the hope that it will inspire you, the reader, to engage in the
instrumentdesignjourneywiththepassionanddedicationthatwefeeltowardthe
subject.
Instrumentdesignisbothartandscience,bothqualitativeandquantitative,both
conceptual and methodological, both holistic and technical, driven by both sub-
stantivetheoriesandempiricaloutcomes.Itisthisdualismthatmakesthestudyof
affectiveinstrumentdesignsuchanexcitingandrewardingarea,andwehavetried
to capture this dualism within this text. The first three chapters are quite con-
ceptual; the following four chapters are more methodological. However,
throughout the book, we have maintained a very applied, very conceptual orien-
tationtothematerial.Therefore,thebookrequireslittleprerequisiteknowledgein
ix
x Preface
statistics, although a healthy grasp of correlation and regression would certainly
aid students’ grasp of the contents in Chaps. 4–7.
This book is designed for use in graduate coursework in instrument design in
the affective domain or as a stand-alone guide for a researcher or evaluator who
needstodevelopmulti-itemscalestomeasureaffectivetraits.Giventhat20years
have elapsed since the second edition of this book, this version represents a
completerevisionofthetext.Chapter1providesabriefconceptualintroductionto
theaffectivedomain.Chapter2presentsanoverviewofmeasurement,scaling,and
itemwritingtechniques.Chapter3introducestheconceptofvalidityanddiscusses
issues related to collecting validity evidence-based on the content of the instru-
ment. Chapter 4 introduces the reader to exploratory and confirmatory factor
analyzes as analytic methods to probe the internal structure of the instrument.
Chapter 5 presents latent class analysis, Item Response Theory, and Rasch Mod-
elingasadditionalmethodsforexaminingtheinternalstructureoftheinstrument.
Chapter 5 also includes an introduction to measurement invariance. Chapter 6
discussesavarietyofwaystobuttressthevalidityargumentfortheinstrumentby
examining relations to external variables. Chapter 7 focuses on issues related to
reliability. Finally, Chap. 8 concludes with a summary of the major steps in the
instrument design process.
Thebookoutlinesasystematicapproachtotackletheinstrumentdesignprocess
and provides guidance on most aspects of the process. We hope that this book
provides guidance and inspiration, but no one text can cover all topics related to
instrumentdesigninacompletelycomprehensivefashion.Thus,inthatsense,this
is an introductory text for a multi-faceted topic, rather than an encyclopedic
volume on all topics related to this area. Our greatest wish is that you fall in love
withinstrumentdesignthewaythatwehaveandthatfindtheprocessandthebook
enjoyable as well as informative.
D. Betsy McCoach
Robert K. Gable
John P. Madura
Acknowledgments
There are so many people who have helped make this book possible. First, we
want to thank Glen Davenport, Sarah Newton, and Kristyn Michaud, who all
provided much needed editorial assistance. We also want to thank Mariya
YukymenkoandMelissaEastwood,whohelpedgathertheliteraturefortheupdate
andJessicaGoldstein,whohelpedtodevelopsomeofthematerialonLatentClass
Analysisthatweuseinthisbook.Thank youtotheUniversityofConnecticutfor
granting the first author a sabbatical leave in the Spring of 2010 to work on the
manuscript. Thank you also to the National Research Center on the Gifted and
Talented for supporting the first author throughout this process. Of course, all
opinionscontainedinthebookrepresentourown,andareinnowayrepresentative
of the NRCGT, IES, or the Department of Education. However, the support that
theyprovidedduringthisprocesswasinvaluable.Thanksalsotoourcolleaguesat
the University of Connecticut- Megan Welsh, Chris Rhoads, Swami, and Jane
Rogers and all of the graduate students in the Measurement, Evaluation, and
Assessment program for their support throughout the process. Thank you to the
bestDepartmentChairanEducationalPsychologyDepartmentcouldeverhave—
Del Siegle, for his professional and personal support. We (especially the first
author) could not ask for a better Chair and boss! We are also indebted to the
hundreds of students who have taken instrument design courses at the University
ofConnecticutoverthelast20years.Theirworkhasbothfueledandinformedthis
revision. Thank you to Rachel McAnallen for allowing us to use an adapted
version of her data for our factor analysis examples.
We wish to thank our families, who sacrificed a great deal for the sake of this
book.Countlessearlymorningsandweekendsattheofficehavemade‘‘thebook’’
alegendaryandmythicalcreatureatthefirstauthor’shouse,secondonlytoSanta
Claus. In particular, the first author wishes to acknowledge the efforts of her
husbandDel,whobecameasingleparentinthemorningsforthesakeofthebook,
anevenmoreheroicactgiventhathehasbooksofhisowntopen.Shealsowishes
to thank Jessica, Del, Mom, Melissa, Nikki, Susannah, Catherine, Ann, Dave,
Brandi, Megan, Mike C., John S., and everyone else who provided physical
xi
xii Acknowledgments
andmoralsupportthroughoutthisprocess.Finally,shewishestothankSallyReis,
her major advisor, who has provided invaluable mentorship, both academically
and personally, and who serves as her role model for pursuing a successful aca-
demic career as a mother.