PSY494P122
Online and Offline Resources In
Psychological Assessment
(Syllabus – Spring 2014)
Type of Completion: Z (fulfilled or not)
Credits: 3
Course language: English
Responsible of the course:
Name: Mgr. Carlos A. Almenara, PhD
Address: (MU FSS) Joštova, 10 – Office 2.53, Brno.
Office hours: Appointment required.
E - mail: carlos.almenara@mail.muni.cz
1. PERSONAL GOALS:
My major goal as a teacher is to inspire students to learn and think critically.
2. PURPOSE OF THE COURSE:
Although almost anyone knows how to perform a search on internet, few
people know the basic principles behind the search process. Therefore, the online
search experience is usually based on trial and error.
The process of search, select and retrieve information on an efficient way is
absolutely different to the trial and error approach and requires different skills and
knowledge. These skills and knowledge are the core component of digital literacy
(i.e. the ability to understand information).
With the constant increase of information, professionals need to use their time
online more efficiently, productively and less frustrating. To achieve this goal, they
have to develop their digital literacy skills and knowledge. Therefore, psychologists
need to know what information is available online, how this information is
generated, what type of information is the most relevant, and how this information
can be retrieved and used.
Accordingly, with a focus on psychological assessment, this course has been
created to promote students‟ digital literacy, giving them the skills and knowledge
to efficiently search, critically select and efficiently organize scientific information.
3. COURSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:
The overall goal of this course is that students acquire the knowledge and skills
to efficiently find, select and organize information and resources for psychological
assessment.
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Identify the general characteristics of scientific articles and journals.
- Identifies and uses a Digital Object Identifier (DOI).
- Identifies and differentiates between ISSN and e-ISSN.
- Differentiates between online and offline access to a journal, and
between browsing a journal‟s current issue, journal‟s archives, and
journal‟s online first articles (ahead-of-print).
- Identifies and uses the article‟s structure: title, author, abstract,
keywords, highlights, introduction, method, results, and discussion.
2. Execute advanced searches through search engines and databases.
- Identifies and creatively uses free available search engines (Google
Scholar, TRIP, Microsoft Academic Search, WorldCat, CUFTS,
JournalSeeker, etc.), to find information.
- Knows and/or uses major databases for psychological assessment (APA
Databases, PubMed, Scopus, Questia, EBSCO Psychology and Behavioral
Sciences Collection, Proquest Psychology Journals, Gale Psychology
Collection, Proquest Dissertations & Theses Full Text, OVID, CSA, ISI
Web of Knowledge, SerialsSolutions, ISI Journal Citation Reports, etc.).
- Differentiates between keyword and subject.
- Knows how to use the Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms.
- Knows how to use Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms.
- Identifies the different ways to search and get access to a psychological
test.
3. Know and use online and offline psychological tests databases.
- Uses the Mental Measurements Yearbook by BUROS Institute (online
and/or offline).
- Uses the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Test Collection.
- Knows and uses major books, handbooks, encyclopedias and websites
containing psychological tests in his research field.
- Knows the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing.
4. Be up-to-date on his research field.
- Uses email alerts.
- Uses matching criteria search alerts.
- Uses RSS.
- Uses other online resources (scientific social networks, listserv, forums,
blogspots, twitter, linkedin, facebook, etc.)
5. Select and organize the information using a reference manager.
- Apply his knowledge to critically and properly select the information.
- Knows and uses the APA Citation Style.
- Knows and/or uses a reference manager (Mendeley, EndNote,
RefWorks, etc.)
4. COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
This course is delivered in English, and students should have at least an
intermediate level (B1) in this language.
Classes are once every week. Classes are two academic hours long (45
min. each one) and they are divided as follows: first hour of lecture,
being the teacher the most active, presenting the content; second hour
of training (exercises), being the students the more active, applying the
knowledge acquired during the lecture, testing strategies and solving
problems with the assistance of the teacher.
To access the final exam, it‟s needed to attend at least 80% of the
seminars (i.e. 10 out of 13 seminars in total).
I encourage students to participate in classroom: asking questions,
answering, or making a comment or observation. For those who feel shy
speaking in public, I encourage them to participate. And those who feel
confident speaking in public, I encourage them to shape the classroom
atmosphere as warm and inviting as possible.
Read the assigned papers before the seminar session, they are very
useful. The assigned papers have been carefully selected to give you a
background of information for the topic covered in the session.
I will monitor the participation during each seminar. Your opinion is
important.
5. EVALUATION:
The grading scale for this course is “zápočet” (Z), which means that you will obtain
a grade of “Z” (Započteno) if you pass the course or a grade of “N” (Nezapočteno) if
you don‟t.
To obtain this final grade (Z or N), students are evaluated using a 5 points scale (A,
B, C, D, E). In this way, students obtaining an “E” in the total score fail to pass the
course.
To obtain the total score, I use the following calculation:
40% mandatory assignments.
25% participates in class.
35% Final exam (Multichoice answer quiz with 20 questions)
6. OFFLINE RESOURCES (BOOKS):
American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, &
National Council on Measurement in Education. (1999). Standards for educational
and psychological testing. Washington DC: American Educational Research
Association.
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington DC: American Psychological
Association.
Bartram, D. (2012). Concluding thoughts on the internationalization of test reviews.
International Journal of Testing, 12(2), 195–201.
doi:10.1080/15305058.2011.649869
Cohen, R. J., & Swerdlik, M. (Eds.). (2009). Psychological testing and assessment: An
introduction to tests and measurement (7th ed.). Washington DC: McGraw-Hill.
Constantine, M. G., & Ponterotto, J. G. (2006). Evaluating and selecting psychological
measures for research purposes. In F. T. L. Leong & J. T. Austin (Eds.), The
psychology research handbook: A guide for graduate students and research
assistants (2nd ed., pp. 104–113). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Ercikan, K., & Lyons-Thomas, J. (2013). Adapting tests for use in other languages and
cultures. In K. F. Geisinger (Ed.), APA handbook of testing and assessment in
psychology: Testing and assessment in school psychology and education (Vol. 3,
pp. 545–569). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
doi:10.1037/14049-026
Evans, J. (2007). Your psychology project: The essential guide. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Evers, A. (2012). The internationalization of test reviewing: Trends, differences, and
results. International Journal of Testing, 12(2), 136–156.
doi:10.1080/15305058.2012.658932
Goh, D., & Foo, S. (Eds.). (2008). Social information retrieval systems: Emerging
technologies and applications for searching the web effectively. New York, NY:
Information Science Reference.
Hambleton, R. K., & Zenisky, A. L. (2011). Translating and adapting tests for crosscultural
assessments. In D. Matsumoto & F. J. R. van de Vijver (Eds.), Crosscultural
research methods in psychology (pp. 46–74). New York, NY: Cambridge
University Press.
Hersh, W. (2009). Information retrieval: A health and biomedical perspective. New
York, NY: Springer.
Joyner, R. L., Rouse, W. A., & Glatthorn, A. A. (2013). Writing the winning thesis or
dissertation: A step-by-step guide (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Koocher, G. P., Norcross, J. C., & Hill III, S. S. (Eds.). (2005). Psychologists‟ desk
reference (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Leach, M. M., Stevens, M. J., Lindsay, G., Ferrero, A., & Korkut, Y. (Eds.). (2012). The
Oxford handbook of international psychological ethics. New York, NY: Oxford
University Press.
Lenburg, J. (2010). The facts on file guide to research (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Facts
on File.
McBride, D. M. (2013). Hypothesis development: Where research questions come from.
In D. M. McBride (Ed.), The process of research in psychology (2nd ed., pp. 19–
42). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Norcross, J. C., Hogan, T. P., & Koocher, & G. P. (Eds.). (2008). Clinician‟s guide to
evidence-based practices: Mental health and the addictions. New York, NY: Oxford
University Press.
Willis, J., Inman, D., & Valenti, R. (2010). Sources of knowledge and perspectives. In J.
Willis, D. Inman, & R. Valenti (Eds.), Completing a professional practice
dissertation: A guide for doctoral students and faculty (pp. 123–176). Charlotte,
NC: IAP.
ONLINE RESOURCES:
Tests and Measures in the Social Sciences (Compiled by Helen Hough, Health Sciences
Librarian, University of Texas at Arlington). This database contains information on
about 12,000 measures available in 128 compilation volumes. There is a database
version in RefShare and is also available on this website:
http://libraries.uta.edu/helen/test&meas/testmainframe.htm
Educational Testing Service (ETS) - Test Collection. The ETS Test Collection is a
database of more than 25,000 tests and other measurement devices. Contains
information about tests from the early 1900s to the present, and is considered the
largest compilation of such materials in the world.
http://www.ets.org/test_link/about/
PsycTESTS. Is a research database that provides access to psychological tests,
measures, scales, surveys, and other assessments as well as descriptive information
about the test and its development and administration.
http://www.apa.org/pubs/databases/psyctests/index.aspx
Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HaPI). Is a database that provides access to
information on approximately 15,000 measurement instruments (i.e. questionnaires,
interview schedules, checklists, coding schemes, rating scales, etc.) in the fields of
health and psychosocial sciences.
http://www.ovid.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=13051&catal
ogId=13151&langId=-1&partNumber=Prod-866
Directory of Special Libraries and Information Centers. This directory is published by
Gale in two volumes (available separately): Volume 1 (in three parts) provides detailed
contact and descriptive information on subject-specific resource collections maintained
by various government agencies, businesses, publishers, educational and nonprofit
organizations, and libraries around the world. In addition, Vol. 1 features seven
appendixes and a comprehensive subject index and is available with or without an
inter-edition supplement. Volume 2, Geographic and Personnel Indexes, provides
access to profiled libraries by geographic region, as well as by the professional staff
that are cited in each listing.
http://www.libraries-update.com/
PSYNDEXplus with TestFinder. PSYNDEX is the most comprehensive abstract database
(not full-text) of psychological literature, audiovisual media, intervention programs, and
tests from the German-speaking countries. Publisher: Zentrum fur Psychologische
Information und Dokumentation (ZPID) at the University of Trier.
http://site.ovid.com/site/products/fieldguide/pskm/About_PSYNDEXplus_with_Test.jsp
Mental Measurements Yearbook Test Review Online. The most widely acclaimed
reference series in education and psychology, the Mental Measurements Yearbooks are
designed to assist professionals in selecting and using standardized tests. The series,
initiated in 1938, provides factual information, critical reviews, and comprehensive
bibliographic references on the construction, use, and validity of all tests published in
English. Mental Measurements Yearbook, from the Buros Institute, contains the most
recent descriptive information and critical reviews of new and revised tests from the
Buros Institute's Yearbooks. The database covers more than 4,000 commerciallyavailable
tests in categories such as personality, developmental, behavioral
assessment, neuropsychological, achievement, intelligence and aptitude, educational,
speech & hearing, and sensory motor.
http://buros.unl.edu/buros/jsp/search.jsp
Mental Measurements Yearbook with Tests in Print (TIP). This unique package includes
the Mental Measurements Yearbook database PLUS the Tests in Print database, which
provides the most current descriptive test data, including test descriptions, publishers,
pricing, in-print status, etc. TIP provides vital information to users including test
purpose, test publisher, in-print status, price, test acronym, intended test population,
administration times, publication date(s), and test author(s). A score index permits
users to identify what is being measured by each test. Tests in Print also guides
readers to critical, candid test reviews published in the Mental Measurements Yearbook
series. Tests in Print is an indispensable reference for professionals (including such
areas as education, psychology, business) and anyone interested in the critical issues
of tests and testing.
http://buros.org/tests-print
World Guide to Special Libraries. Published by Walter de Gruyter, is the most
comprehensive directory of special libraries worldwide. The completely revised and
updated 8th edition lists over 34,200 libraries under 821 subject headings. As a
number of the libraries are listed under more than one subject, the work contains
46,264 entries in total. The term special libraries, is understood to refer to all libraries
specializing in specific subjects. Amongst others, these include major central libraries
such as the National Library of Medicine at Bethesda, USA, departmental and institute
libraries, corporate and administrative libraries, „classic‟ special libraries such as the
Bibliothèque artistique de la ville de Bruxelles and general libraries with major
specialized holdings.
http://www.degruyter.com/view/product/161786
Course Calendar (February to May: 13-week lectures; 1-week exam):
Week Topics Readings (due on this date) Assignments (due on/during this date)
(1) Feb. 19
Course information and general introduction.
Online and offline scientific information,
indexed information, credibility of the
information, access to information and
barriers.
(2) Feb. 26
The basics of search. Google, Google
Scholar, Microsoft Academics.
Finding a Research Problem (Joyner, Rouse, &
Glatthorn, 2013); Hypothesis development [Part 1]
(McBride, 2013); Health and biomedical information,
Indexing, Research directions (Hersh, 2009)*
Formulate a research question
(3) March 5
Databases. Database providers, selecting
databases, Gale Directory of Databases,
Evidence-based databases, Multiple
database search engines (metasearch).
Finding sources of information: Electronic databases
(Lenburg, 2010); Locating the best available
research (Norcross, Hogan, & Koocher, 2008)
According to your research question, make a list of
databases that you will use to find information.
(4) March 12
Organizing the information with Mendeley
Software.
APA Citation Style (American Psychological
Association, 2010)
Start your Mendeley database.
(5) March 19
Offline resources for psychological
assessment. Mental Measurements
Yearbook, Tests in Print, Directory of Special
Libraries and Information Centers, World
Guide to Special Libraries, compilation
volumes, books, handbooks, textbooks, etc.
Finding sources by subject: Psychology (Lenburg,
2010); Evaluating and selecting psychological
measures for research purposes (Constantine &
Ponterotto, 2006); Finding sources of information:
archives, CD-ROM collections, general references
(Lenburg, 2010)
Find special volumes, handbooks, collections, in the
topics covered by your research.
(6) March 26
Databases of psychological tests: ETS, Test
and Measures in the Social Sciences, Mental
Measurements Yearbook Online, HaPI,
PSYNDEX.
Publishers of psychological and psychoeducational
tests (Koocher, Norcross, & Hill III, 2005); Where to
go for authoritative information: Reference sources
(Cohen & Swerdlik, 2009); Sourcing materials and
measures for psychological research (Evans, 2007).
Find the most suitable tests for your research.
* These readings are optional
Course Calendar (February to May: 13-week lectures; 1-week exam) (CONTINUED)
Date Topics and activities Readings (due on this date) Assignments (due on/during this date)
(7) Apr. 02
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.
Databases of Journals (CUFTS,
JournalSeek, UlrichsWeb, etc.).
Journals‟ Impact Factor. ISI Web
of Knowledge.
Publication and citation analysis as a tool for information retrieval (Goh & Foo,
2008)
Find the most similar
dissertation/thesis to your research.
Select the most important journals in
your area.
(8) Apr. 09
ProQuest Psychology Journals.
Searching and browsing.
Hypothesis development [Part 2: How to conduct a literature review] (McBride,
2013)
Using the ProQuest Thesaurus, make a
list of keywords for your research.
(9) Apr. 16
APA Databases: PsycInfo,
PsycArticles, PsycTests,
PsycBooks, PsyCritiques,
PsycExtra, PsycTherapy.
Searching and browsing.
APA Tutorials
http://www.apa.org/pubs/databases/training/tutorials.aspx
Using the APA Thesaurus, make a list
of keywords for your research.
(10) Apr. 23
MEDLINE. A complete
introduction to the use of
MEDLINE using PubMed and
OVID.
MEDLINE Introductory Video Tutorials
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/pubmed.html
Using the ProQuest Thesaurus, make a
list of keywords for your research.
(11) Apr. 30
International Guidelines for Test
Use
Principles, standards, and guidelines that impact test development (Leach,
Stevens, Lindsay, Ferrero, & Korkut, 2012); Concluding thoughts on the
internationalization of test reviews (Bartram, 2012); The internationalization of
test reviewing (Evers, 2012)*; Standards (American Educational Research
Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on
Measurement in Education, 1999)
Summarize how you'll follow the
Standards for Educational and
Psychological Testing.
(12) May 07
Guidelines for Adapting Tests.
Miscellaneous databases
Adapting tests for use in other languages and cultures (Ercikan & LyonsThomas,
2013); Translating and adapting tests for cross-cultural assessments
(Hambleton & Zenisky, 2011)
Propose a research problem aimed to
adapt a test.
(13) May 14
Being up-to-date using email
alerts, CataList, RSS,
ResearchGate, Academia,
Author‟s web page, etc.
Sources of knowledge and perspectives (Willis, Inman, & Valenti, 2010)
Find and subscribe to a listserv, forum,
or group in your area. Select and use 5
RSS related to your research.
(14) May 21 EXAM
* These readings are optional