Lab 2: Describing and evaluating measures

And you will also practice searching the literature...

Begin by choosing one of the following four articles to use for answering the lab questions. Partial citations are provided. Use your psychINFO or Google Scholar skills to locate the article and download a copy from the UCF library.

1. Kate B. Carey, Michael P. Carey, James M. Henson, Stephen A. Maisto & Kelly S. DeMartini (2010). Brief alcohol interventions for mandated college students: comparison of face-to-face counseling and computer-delivered interventions

 2. Lori A.J. Scott-Sheldon, Michael P. Carey, Peter A. Vanable, Theresa E. Senn, Patricia Coury-Doniger and Marguerite A. Urban (2010). Predicting Condom Use among STD Clinic Patients Using the Information - Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) Model

 3. Julia D. Buckner, Anthony H. Ecker, Alex S. Cohen (2010). Mental health problems and interest in marijuana treatment among marijuana-using college students

 4. Penelope A. Hasking, Sarah J. Coric, Sarah Swannell, Graham Martin, Holly Knox Thompson, Aaron D.J. Frost (2010) Brief report: Emotion regulation and coping as moderators in the relationship between personality and self-injury

The lab questions

Part A.

Indicate which article you are using to answer the questions.

1. From the article, identify and name:

• Two constructs
• Two operational Definitions
• The type of measure (e.g., nominal, ordinal, etc.) for any two of the measures mentioned in the article, and the mode of each of the same two measures  (e.g., self-report, biological, etc.)

2. write a sentence on the reliability and validity of the two measures (e.g., is there no information about their reliability, is it excellent or poor, what kind of validity info is provided?)

3. Identify if there are any potential ethical issues raised by the study

4. search the literature and find one different types and/or modes of measurement for each of the measures you reported on in question #1. For example, if your original article measured aggression using a self-report scale that was ordinal, you might find a measure that is observational, or uses a nominal scale. Provide a full citation for an article where you find these new measures.

5. For both measures write a few sentences on which measure - the one in the aricle you selected, or in one you report on in question 4 - you think is best and why you think it is best (e.g., better reliability, self report so easier to administer than biological, one has more info available on its validity.)

Part B

Repeat, this time using ONE OF THE ARTICLES YOU REPORTED ON IN the MODULE ONE LAB from the results of your literature search.

Upload a PDF copy of the article with your answers. (Hint - make sure it is a research report, not a review or meta-analysis, and select a shorter rather than longer article for an easier time finding the info).

1. From the article, identify and name:

• Two constructs
• Two operational Definitions
• The type of measure (e.g., nominal, ordinal, etc.) for any two of the measures mentioned in the article, and the mode of each of the same two measures (e.g., self-report, biological, etc.)

2. write a sentence on the reliability and validity of the two measures (e.g., is there no information about their reliability, is it excellent or poor, what kind of validity info is provided?)

3. Identify if there are any potential ethical issues raised by the study

4. search the literature and find one different types and/or modes of measurement for each of the measures you reported on in question #1. For example, if your article measured aggression using a self-report scale that was ordinal, you might find a measure that is observational, or uses a nominal scale. Provide a full citation for an article where you find these new measures.

5. For both measures write a few sentences on which measure - the one in the original aricle you downloaded, or in one you report on in question 4 - you think is best and why you think it is best (e.g., better reliability, self report so easier to administer than biological, one has more info available on its validity.)