(Replaced with Alternative Project 3/24/2020)
Schedule:

Tuesday, March 17:
Instructions, Preliminary Meetings

Tuesday, March 24:
Final Planning Meetings

Tuesday, March 31:
“Camera-ready” copy due, in class, on paper

Thursday, April 2:
Questionnaires (in class)

Tuesday, April 7:
Data & summary statistics distributed

Thursday, April 23:
Final report due

For this project, small groups of (three to five of) you will each make up your own “psychological test” and report on data arising from a small-sample (the class) tryout of the items. The test or questionnaire must be very short, for practical reasons. Nevertheless, you are free to attempt to measure any psychological construct you like: some ability, personality construct, or any kind of attitude. Good luck.
On Tuesday, March 31, in class, you hand in a “camera ready” copy of your instrument (test or questionnaire); some rules:
Your instrument must be computer-printed for legibility.
It must fit on two 8.5 x 11 (letter size) pieces of paper (or less; format compactly if possible to reduce copying costs).
Identify your questionnaire with your group name in the upper-right hand corner.
It should have at least 5, but no more than 10, questions.
All of your questions should yield a single response, and be directed toward the measurement of the construct you intend. On a cover-sheet for the questionnaire packet, we will ask for the respondent’s sex and undergraduate GPA [for you to use as (potential) background variables in your analysis]; do not ask any other (potentially identifying) questions.
We will distribute packets containing everyone’s tests/questionnaires to everyone in the class on Thursday, April 2. Because the class is small for data collection purposes, it is very important that everyone be there to pick up the packets, answer the questions, and return them; otherwise, you will all have very little information about your items.
Your questions must have directly-machine-codable responses (e.g., multiple choice, true-false, or Likert-type formats), and you must supply a key (on a separate sheet of paper, identified with your group name). We will supply you with some standard item-analysis statistics (p+, rpt-bis, coefficient alpha, etc.) on Tuesday, April 7.

Although your tests/questionnaires are constructed as a group project, each of you must write your own individual report on which your grade will be based. You may discuss the contents of your reports with your groups, but the actual document must be your own individual work. Your written (printed!) report on your scale construction effort is due on Tuesday, April 23. Your report should include 1) A description of the purpose of your test or questionnaire (1-3 pp.), 2) the items themselves and your method for constructing them (1-3 pp.), and 3) a summary of the performance of the items and an evaluation of the items (or a subset of them) for measuring whatever you are trying to measure (3-5 pp).

To view some examples of scales constructed by students in previous years, download and view any of the entries listed below. (These are shorter, for the most part, than the questionnaires you will design, because they were done following slightly different rules.)

Q0325 and its statistics

Q0600 and its statistics

Q3495 and its statistics

Q3903 and its statistics

Q4661 and its statistics