Review of Statistical Concepts

Test Specifications Example

Determine whether you want to measure a trait, ability, emotional state, disorder, interest, attitude or other construct:

( Ability, such as musical skill, writing skill, intelligence, or reading comprehension, ( Personality Trait, such as extroversion, creativity, or deviousness, ( Disorder, such as anxiety, depression, or psychotic thought disorder, ( Emotion, such as happiness or anger, ( Attitude, such as authoritarianism or prejudice, ( Interest, such as career-related interests.

( Other: ____________________________

Describe the specific construct you want to measure in a word or two: Entrepreneurial Spirit

Now describe the construct using several sentences. What behaviors are associated with the construct? Does it include more than one quality or dimension?

Business sense—the ability to create and run a successful new business. The construct would be expected to include a tolerance for calculated financial risk, creativity to come up with viable business ideas, and the ability to create a business plan and to manage the people and resources needed to accomplish that plan. I expect test scores to correlate with past and future business success.

Describe your process for initially generating items. Will you interview experts? Review textbooks or journal articles? Look at diagnostic criteria in the DSM?

I will interview at least two successful entrepreneurs. I will also do a literature search to see what characteristics are associated with business success.

Think about the format and phrasing of your items. For instance, some tests use first-person statements, such as “I enjoy swimming,” while others use questions, such as “Do you enjoy swimming?” Other tests might use single-word prompts, such as “Swimming,” and ask for the test-taker to rate this and other words on a scale of 1–5 in order to indicate the degree of interest or enjoyment. Some tests use pictures rather than words, and some are administered to an informant other than the client, such as a parent or work supervisor.

Think about the response format for your items. Yes/No responses or a Likert scale are popular for personality tests. If you use a Likert scale, consider how many response options there will be and whether your scale will have a neutral midpoint. Multiple-choice is a format that is familiar in academic tests. (Some tests use open-ended responses, but this is difficult to score and too complex for this exercise.)

Now write one typical item for your test, demonstrating your item and response format:

I can clearly explain the steps needed to create a new business.

1. Strongly disagree 2. Disagree 3. Agree 4. Strongly agree

How many items will your initial test include? Keep in mind that you need to create about twice as many test items initially, because you will discard about half of them during your item analysis. ___20______