validity

Psychometric theory involves several distinct areas of study. First, psychometricians have developed a large body of theory used in the development of mental tests and analysis of data collected from these tests. This work can be roughly divided into classical test theory (CTT) and the more recent item response theory (IRT). An approach which is similar to IRT but also quite distinctive, in terms of its origins and features, is represented by the Rasch model for measurement. The development of the Rasch model, and the broader class of models to which it belongs, was explicitly founded on requirement ...

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Psychometrics, Psychometrics - Origins and background, Psychometrics - Definition of measurement in the social sciences, Psychometrics - Instruments and procedures, Psychometrics - Theoretical approaches, Psychometrics - Key concepts

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Reliability may be estimated through a variety of methods that fall into two types: Single-administration and multiple-administration. Multiple-administration methods require that two assessments are administered. In the test-retest method, reliability is estimated as the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient between two administrations of the same measure. In the alternate forms method, reliability is estimated by the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient of two different forms of a measure, usually ad ...

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Reliability statistics, Reliability statistics - Estimation, Reliability statistics - Classical test theory, Reliability statistics - Item response theory, Reliability statistics - External links

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In semantics, reference is generally construed as the relation between nouns or pronouns and objects that are named by them. Hence the word "John" refers to John; the word "it" refers to some previously specified object. The objects referred to are called the "referents" of the word. Sometimes the word-object relation is called "denotation"; the referent denotes the object. Reference is not in general the same as meaning, as words can often be meaningful without having a referent. Fictional and mythological names such as ...

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Reference, Reference - Semantics, Reference - Art, Reference - Computer science, Reference - Geometry, Reference - Libraries, Reference - Scholarship, Reference - Personal references, Reference - Canadian law

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Organisations typically gather information in order to assess the business environment, and cover fields such as marketing research, industry or market research, and competitor analysis. Competitive organizations accumulate business intelligence in order to gain sustainable competitive advantage, and may regard such intelligence as a valuable core competence in some instances. Generally, BI-collectors glean their primary information from internal business sources. Such sources help decision-makers understand how well they have perform ...

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Business intelligence, Business intelligence - BI business processes, Business intelligence - BI technology, Business intelligence - BI software types, Business intelligence - History, Business intelligence - Key performance indicators, Business intelligence - Example, Business intelligence - Designing and implementing a business intelligence programme, Business intelligence - Open Source Products, Business intelligence - Commercial Products, Business intelligence - Related subjects, Business intelligence - External links

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The problem with defining the word cult is that (1) purported cult members generally resist being called a cult, and (2) the word cult is often used to marginalize religious groups with which one does not agree or sympathize. Some serious researchers of religion and sociology prefer to use terms such as new religious movement (NRM) in their research on cults. Such usage may lead to confusion because some religious movements are "new" but not necessarily cults, and some purported cults are not religious or overtly religio ...

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Cult, Cult - Definitions of cult, Cult - Definition of cult in dictionaries, Cult - Definition by the Christian countercult movement, Cult - Definition by secular cult opposition, Cult - Points of view regarding definitions, Cult - Cult, NRM and the sociology and psychology of religion, Cult - Christianity and Cults, Cult - Cults and terrorism, Cult - Theories about the reasons for joining a cult, Cult - Cult leadership, Cult - Development of cults, Cult - Relationships with the outside world, Cult - Cults: genuine concerns and exaggerations, Cult - Stigmatization and discrimination, Cult - Leaving a cult, Cult - Criticism by former members of purported cults, Cult - Allegations made by scholars and skeptics, Cult - Other allegations, Cult - Prevalence of purported cults, Cult - Cults and governments, Cult - Bibliography, Cult - Books, Cult - Articles

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Race - Origins of modern humans. see also single-origin hypothesis, multiregional hypothesis. Any biological model for race must account for the development of racial differences during human evolution. For much of the 20th century, however, anthropologists relied on an incomplete fossil record for reconstructing human evolution. Their models seldom provided a firm basis for drawing inferences about the origin of races. Modern research in molecular biology, however, has provided evolut ...

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Race, Race - Historical origins of race, Race - History of the term, Race - History of race research, Race - 20th- and 21st-century debates over race, Race - Scale of race research, Race - Summary of different definitions of race, Race - The origins, patterns, and physical manifestations of human genetic variation, Race - Origins of modern humans, Race - Distribution of variation, Race - Substructure in the human population, Race - Physical variation in humans, Race - Social interpretation of physical variation, Race - Incongruities of racial classifications, Race - Ethnicity as a way of categorizing people, Race - Ancestry as a way of categorizing people, Race - Current disagreement across disciplines, Race - Case studies in the social construction of race, Race - Race in the United States, Race - Race in Brazil, Race - Practical uses of race, Race - Race in politics and ethics, Race - Race and intelligence, Race - Race in biomedicine, Race - Race in law enforcement, Race - Footnotes

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Computer simulations are used in a wide variety of practical contexts, such as flight simulators to train pilots, weather forecasting and the design of complex systems such as aircraft but also logistics systems. The reliability and the trust people put in computer simulations depends on the validity of the simulation model, therefore verification and validation are of crucial importance in the development of computer simulations. Another important aspect of computer simulations is that of reproducibility of the results, meaning that ...

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Computer simulation, Computer simulation - History, Computer simulation - Types of computer simulation, Computer simulation - Computer simulation in science, Computer simulation - Computer simulation in practical contexts

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The definition of measurement in the social sciences has a long history. A currently widespread definition, proposed by Stanley Smith Stevens (1946), is that measurement is "the assignment of numerals to objects or events according to some rule". This definition was introduced in the paper in which Stevens proposed four levels of measurement. Although widely adopted, this definition differs in important respects from the more classical definition of measurement adopted throughout the physical sciences, which is that measurement is the numeri ...

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Psychometrics, Psychometrics - Origins and background, Psychometrics - Definition of measurement in the social sciences, Psychometrics - Instruments and procedures, Psychometrics - Theoretical approaches, Psychometrics - Key concepts

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Race - History of the term. Further information: Race (historical definitions) Given our visual acuity and complex social relationships, humans presumably have always observed and speculated about the physical differences among individuals and groups. But different societies have attributed markedly different meanings to these distinctions. The division of humanity into distinct "races" can be traced as far back as the Ancient Egyptian sacred text the Book ...

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Race, Race - Historical origins of race, Race - History of the term, Race - History of race research, Race - 20th- and 21st-century debates over race, Race - Summary of different definitions of race, Race - The origins patterns and physical manifestations of human genetic variation, Race - Origins of modern humans, Race - Distribution of variation, Race - Substructure in the human population, Race - Physical variation in humans, Race - Social interpretation of physical variation, Race - Incongruities of racial classifications, Race - Ethnicity as a way of categorizing people, Race - Ancestry as a way of categorizing people, Race - Current disagreement across disciplines, Race - Case studies in the social construction of race, Race - Race in the United States, Race - Race in Brazil, Race - Practical uses of race, Race - Race in politics and ethics, Race - Race and intelligence, Race - Race in biomedicine, Race - Race in law enforcement, Race - Footnotes

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The first psychometric instruments were designed to measure the concept of intelligence. The best known historical approach involves the Stanford-Binet IQ test, developed originally by the French Psychologist Alfred Binet. Contrary to a fairly widespread misconception, there is no compelling evidence that it is possible to measure innate intelligence through such instruments, in the sense of an innate learning capacity unaffected by experience, nor was this the original intention when they were developed. Nevertheless, IQ tests are useful to ...

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Psychometrics, Psychometrics - Origins and background, Psychometrics - Definition of measurement in the social sciences, Psychometrics - Instruments and procedures, Psychometrics - Theoretical approaches, Psychometrics - Key concepts

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Random sampling errors: sample too small sample not representative inappropriate sampling method used random errors Research design errors: bias introduced measurement error data analysis error sampling frame error population definition error scaling error question construction error Interviewer errors: recording errors cheating errorsSee also:

Quantitative marketing research, Quantitative marketing research - Scope and requirements, Quantitative marketing research - Typical General procedure, Quantitative marketing research - Descriptive techniques, Quantitative marketing research - Inferential techniques, Quantitative marketing research - Types of hypothesis tests, Quantitative marketing research - Reliability and validity, Quantitative marketing research - Types of errors, Quantitative marketing research - List of related topics

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Statistical survey - Doctoral and Masters Degrees. Joint Program in Survey Methodology (JPSM) - University of Maryland-College Park and University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Survey Research and Methodology - University of Nebraska-Lincoln Program in Survey Methodology - University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Statistical survey - Masters Degrees Only. Graduate Program in Survey Research - University of Connecticut Diploma in Official Statistics ...

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Statistical survey, Statistical survey - Structure and standardization, Statistical survey - Advantages of surveys, Statistical survey - Disadvantages of surveys, Statistical survey - Advantages of self-administered questionnaires, Statistical survey - Disadvantages of self-administered surveys, Statistical survey - Advantages of researcher administered interviews, Statistical survey - Survey methods, Statistical survey - Methods used to increase response rates, Statistical survey - Graduate Degree Programs in Survey Methodology and Survey Research, Statistical survey - Doctoral and Masters Degrees, Statistical survey - Masters Degrees Only, Statistical survey - Lists of related topics

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Race - Scale of race research. Discussions of race are complicated because race research has taken place on at least two scales (global and national) and from the point of view of different research aims. Evolutionary scientists are typically interested in humanity as a whole; and taxonomic racial classifications are often either unhelpful to, or refuted by, studies that focus on the question of global human diversity. Policy-makers and applied professions (such as law-enforcement or medicine), however, are typically concerned only with genetic variation at the national or ...

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Race, Race - Historical origins of race, Race - History of the term, Race - History of race research, Race - 20th- and 21st-century debates over race, Race - Scale of race research, Race - Summary of different definitions of race, Race - The origins patterns and physical manifestations of human genetic variation, Race - Origins of modern humans, Race - Distribution of variation, Race - Substructure in the human population, Race - Physical variation in humans, Race - Social interpretation of physical variation, Race - Incongruities of racial classifications, Race - Ethnicity as a way of categorizing people, Race - Ancestry as a way of categorizing people, Race - Current disagreement across disciplines, Race - Case studies in the social construction of race, Race - Race in the United States, Race - Race in Brazil, Race - Practical uses of race, Race - Race in politics and ethics, Race - Race and intelligence, Race - Race in biomedicine, Race - Race in law enforcement, Race - Footnotes

Read more here: » Race: Encyclopedia II - Race - 20th- and 21st-century debates over race

Research should be tested for reliability, generalizability, and validity. Generalizability is the ability to make inferences from a sample to the population. Reliability is the extent to which a measure will produce consistent results. Test-retest reliability checks how similar the results are if the research is repeated under similar circumstances. Stability over repeated measures is assessed with the Pearson coefficient. Alternative forms reliability checks how similar the results are if the research is repeated using different for ...

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Quantitative marketing research, Quantitative marketing research - Scope and requirements, Quantitative marketing research - Typical General procedure, Quantitative marketing research - Descriptive techniques, Quantitative marketing research - Inferential techniques, Quantitative marketing research - Types of hypothesis tests, Quantitative marketing research - Reliability and validity, Quantitative marketing research - Types of errors, Quantitative marketing research - List of related topics

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With the advent of the modern synthesis in the early 20th century, biologists developed a new, more rigorous model of race as subspecies. For these biologists, a race is a recognizable group forming all or part of a species. A monotypic species has no races, or rather one race comprising the whole species. Monotypic species can occur in several ways: All members of the species are very similar and cannot be sensibly divided into biologically significant subcategories. The individuals vary considerably but ...

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Race, Race - Historical origins of race, Race - History of the term, Race - History of race research, Race - 20th- and 21st-century debates over race, Race - Summary of different definitions of race, Race - The origins patterns and physical manifestations of human genetic variation, Race - Origins of modern humans, Race - Distribution of variation, Race - Substructure in the human population, Race - Physical variation in humans, Race - Social interpretation of physical variation, Race - Incongruities of racial classifications, Race - Ethnicity as a way of categorizing people, Race - Ancestry as a way of categorizing people, Race - Current disagreement across disciplines, Race - Case studies in the social construction of race, Race - Race in the United States, Race - Race in Brazil, Race - Practical uses of race, Race - Race in politics and ethics, Race - Race and intelligence, Race - Race in biomedicine, Race - Race in law enforcement, Race - Footnotes

Read more here: » Race: Encyclopedia II - Race - 20th- and 21st-century debates over race

Much of the early theoretical and applied work in psychometrics was undertaken in an attempt to measure intelligence. The origin of psychometrics has connections to the related field of psychophysics. Charles Spearman, a pioneer in psychometrics who developed approaches to the measurement of intelligence, studied under Wilhelm Wundt and was trained in psychophysics. The psychometrician L. L. Thurstone later developed and applied a theoretical approach to the measurement referred to as the law of comparative judgment, an approach which has cl ...

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Psychometrics, Psychometrics - Origins and background, Psychometrics - Definition of measurement in the social sciences, Psychometrics - Instruments and procedures, Psychometrics - Theoretical approaches, Psychometrics - Key concepts

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Race - Race in the United States. In the United States since its early history, Native Americans, African-Americans and European-Americans were classified as belonging to different races. For nearly three centuries, the criteria for membership in these groups were similar, comprising a person’s appearance, his fraction of known non-White ancestry, and his social circle.2 But the criteria for membership in these races diverged in the late 19th century. During Reconstruction, increasing numbers of Amer ...

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Race, Race - Historical origins of race, Race - History of the term, Race - History of race research, Race - 20th- and 21st-century debates over race, Race - Summary of different definitions of race, Race - The origins patterns and physical manifestations of human genetic variation, Race - Origins of modern humans, Race - Distribution of variation, Race - Substructure in the human population, Race - Physical variation in humans, Race - Social interpretation of physical variation, Race - Incongruities of racial classifications, Race - Ethnicity as a way of categorizing people, Race - Ancestry as a way of categorizing people, Race - Current disagreement across disciplines, Race - Case studies in the social construction of race, Race - Race in the United States, Race - Race in Brazil, Race - Practical uses of race, Race - Race in politics and ethics, Race - Race and intelligence, Race - Race in biomedicine, Race - Race in law enforcement, Race - Footnotes

Read more here: » Race: Encyclopedia II - Race - Case studies in the social construction of race

Perhaps the simplest advantage of standardized tests is that they are standardized. While some people may systematically score lower on certain tests, these differences will be systematic. On the opposite end of the spectrum, scores on subjective tests change significantly according to whoever is grading them. In the case of college admissions, for example, interviews with prospective students has been repeatedly shown to predict later college performance no better than chance, while sta ...

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Standardized testing, Standardized testing - History of standardized tests, Standardized testing - Criticisms of standardized tests, Standardized testing - Advantages of standardized tests

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Race - Incongruities of racial classifications. Even as the idea of "race" was becoming a powerful organizing principle in many societies, the shortcomings of the concept were apparent. In the Old World, the gradual transition in appearances from one group to adjacent groups emphasized that "one variety of mankind does so sensibly pass into the other, that you cannot mark out the limits between them," as Blumenbach observed in his writings on human variation (Marks 1995, p. 54). In parts of the Americas, the situ ...

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Race, Race - Historical origins of race, Race - History of the term, Race - History of race research, Race - 20th- and 21st-century debates over race, Race - Summary of different definitions of race, Race - The origins patterns and physical manifestations of human genetic variation, Race - Origins of modern humans, Race - Distribution of variation, Race - Substructure in the human population, Race - Physical variation in humans, Race - Social interpretation of physical variation, Race - Incongruities of racial classifications, Race - Ethnicity as a way of categorizing people, Race - Ancestry as a way of categorizing people, Race - Current disagreement across disciplines, Race - Case studies in the social construction of race, Race - Race in the United States, Race - Race in Brazil, Race - Practical uses of race, Race - Race in politics and ethics, Race - Race and intelligence, Race - Race in biomedicine, Race - Race in law enforcement, Race - Footnotes

Read more here: » Race: Encyclopedia II - Race - Social interpretation of physical variation

The slippery slope argument may or may not involve a fallacy (see the discussion on the two interpretative paradigms below: the momentum paradigm and the inductive paradigm). However, the slippery slope claim requires independent justification to connect the inevitability of B to an occurrence of A. Otherwise the slippery slope scheme merely serves as a device of sophistry. Often proponents of a "slippery slope" contention propose a long series of intermediate events as the mechanism of connection leading from A to B. The "came ...

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Slippery slope, Slippery slope - The slippery slope as argument, Slippery slope - Examples, Slippery slope - The slippery slope as fallacy, Slippery slope - Supporting analogies, Slippery slope - Momentum or frictional analogies, Slippery slope - Induction analogy

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In computer science, references are datatypes which refer to an object elsewhere in memory, and are used to construct a wide variety of data structures such as linked lists. Most programming languages support some form of reference. See reference (computer science). The C++ programming language has a specific type of reference also referred to as a reference; see reference (C++). ...

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Reference, Reference - Semantics, Reference - Art, Reference - Computer science, Reference - Geometry, Reference - Libraries, Reference - Scholarship, Reference - Personal references, Reference - Canadian law

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Race - Race in politics and ethics. Michel Foucault showed the popular historical and political use of a non-essentialist notion of "race" used in the "race struggle" discourse during the 1688 Glorious Revolution and under Louis XIV's end of reign (See above). In the 19th century, this discourse developed in two different directions: marxism, which seize the notion and transformed it into "class struggle" discourse, and racists biologists and eugenicists who ...

See also:

Race, Race - Historical origins of race, Race - History of the term, Race - History of race research, Race - 20th- and 21st-century debates over race, Race - Summary of different definitions of race, Race - The origins patterns and physical manifestations of human genetic variation, Race - Origins of modern humans, Race - Distribution of variation, Race - Substructure in the human population, Race - Physical variation in humans, Race - Social interpretation of physical variation, Race - Incongruities of racial classifications, Race - Ethnicity as a way of categorizing people, Race - Ancestry as a way of categorizing people, Race - Current disagreement across disciplines, Race - Case studies in the social construction of race, Race - Race in the United States, Race - Race in Brazil, Race - Practical uses of race, Race - Race in politics and ethics, Race - Race and intelligence, Race - Race in biomedicine, Race - Race in law enforcement, Race - Footnotes

Read more here: » Race: Encyclopedia II - Race - Practical uses of race