Assignment: Test Development Proposal for sport psychology
The Test Development Proposal should be at least 15 pages (but not more than 25 pages), double-spaced, not including your title page, abstract, Appendix, and references page, and should contain the following sections:
Title page
Abstract
Rationale/Problem Statement: Explain your construct of interest (motor imagery in sports). Make a case for why this construct is important to you, the field of psychology, or your specialization area (motor imagery can be used to help prevent injury, improve confidence etc.). What specifically about your construct are you wanting to assess (ability to visualize)? Are there different characteristics or behaviors that can be assessed within your construct (yes, see the MIIMS construct for more info)? For example, if measuring depression as a construct, would you want to measure the severity of depression or the symptoms related to depression? What are all the characteristics of depression? Would you be assessing all of the characteristics?
Research Question: Develop a research question addressing what you will be assessing. (ability to visualize)
Literature Review: Taken from Step Two, along with any required edits. Write a 7-8 page literature review on your construct of interest and the 5-7 instruments used to assess it. Provide thorough reviews of the 5-7 instruments used to measure it. This is slightly different from other literature reviews, whereby the idea is to review and critique the study and findings. For this literature review you are not reviewing the study but rather are reviewing and critiquing the instrument based on what studies and other research have found. The idea here is review the instrument and its usefulness in measuring your construct. Thus, what does the instrument measure, how reliable and valid is it, and what are its strengths and weaknesses? What is lacking in the instrument which paves the way for the necessity of your newly developed instrument? How are these instruments different from what you will develop?
Use 5-7 scholarly resources, including mostly research studies and articles related to your construct and the instruments used to measure it. Information should be drawn from appropriate sources, such as professional journals, test publisher websites, and dissertations. Information gathered from sources must be appropriately cited, following APA guidelines.
Please be sure to include the following in your literature review:
- A thorough discussion of each instrument you review for your construct, including the name of the test, what the test is used for, whether the test is appropriate for this area, what the reliability and validity of the test is, and what reviewers say about the strengths and weaknesses of it with regard to assessing this construct
- What, in general, appears to be adequately assessed on each test with respect to the construct that you selected?
- What does not appear to be adequately assessed?
- Your literature review should justify your development of an assessment—is there a hole in what is currently being assessed that you can fill with your test? Make a case for why your proposed test would address an area that is not already well assessed.
Test creation: Develop a 12-15 item test/instrument on the construct of interest you selected (Use the MIIMS outline to construct the test) Construct the items and response choices for the instrument (can either be in multiple choice, true/false, rating scale, and/or open ended question format). Include an introduction to the instrument (e.g. what the test is proposing to measure and why) and explicit instructions on how the instrument should be completed by the participants. Use the Diem (2002), Derrington (2009), and Siebert (2002) websites to assist you in your item and test construction. Information gathered from sources must be appropriately cited on the References page, following APA guidelines.
Methodology: Provide detailed information regarding the scale that you developed, who the participants were, and how the scale was administered.
Include the following: Hypothetical
- Participant Selection: Explain who your participants were (e.g. total number, gender, age, etc.) and how you selected them. Be as specific as possible, as if you were giving directions to someone on how to choose and obtain the participants. Include instructions on how informed consent was provided to the participants. Be sure to indicate whether each participant received and reviewed the consent form provided.
- Measures: Discuss the instrument you developed, including what the instrument measures, how many items were developed, what type of scale it is (e.g. rating scale, observation, multiple choice, etc.), and how you developed the instruments (e.g. did you use examples from pre-existing scales, etc.). Include a copy of the instrument in the Appendix.
- Data Collection: Discuss how and where the data was collected (e.g. was the data collected via an internet survey, a group setting, individualized administrations, etc.). Was the data collected in an office setting, house, etc.? Were the participants provided with explicit instructions on how to complete the scale?
Discussion: Include the following information, using at least 2-3 scholarly sources to support your discussion:
- Strengths and Weaknesses: Provide a thorough critique of your scale. What do you believe are the strengths of your scale? The weaknesses? Regarding test construction, are there any items that appear to be problematic or vague? Are the response choices clear and appropriate? Does the scale appear to measure the construct you have selected? How could you increase the validity of your scale?
- Ethical Considerations: Could your participants be harmed by your scale, either in taking it or after it is finished? Address this and other possibly relevant questions of ethics.
- Limitations: No research covers everything. What are the obvious limitations to this study/proposal?
References Page: The references page should be formatted according to APA style. 7 sources minimum
Appendix of your test development scale: