PC Data Analysis and Interpretation Flashcards

Cronbach's alpha measures which type of reliability in psychometric analysis?

Answer: Internal consistency reliability

Cronbach's alpha estimates internal consistency by measuring the average correlation among all items within a single test administration.

In psychometric data interpretation, a confidence interval for an examinee's true score is constructed using the:

Answer: Standard error of measurement

Confidence intervals around a true score estimate are built by adding and subtracting multiples of the SEM from the observed score.

Which data visualization method is most appropriate for showing the relationship between two continuous psychometric variables?

Answer: Scatterplot

A scatterplot displays pairs of values for two continuous variables and visually reveals the direction and strength of their relationship.

Regression to the mean in psychometrics means that:

Answer: Extreme scores on first testing tend to be less extreme on retesting

Regression to the mean is the phenomenon where extremely high or low scores on a first measurement tend to be closer to the mean on subsequent measurement.

An item-total correlation below 0.20 in a psychometric item analysis typically indicates that the item should be:

Answer: Reviewed or removed due to poor discrimination

Item-total correlations below 0.20 suggest an item is not measuring the same construct as the rest of the test and should be reviewed for revision or removal.

In confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), model fit is assessed using indices such as CFI and RMSEA because they:

Answer: Indicate how well the hypothesized factor structure fits the observed data

CFI (Comparative Fit Index) and RMSEA (Root Mean Square Error of Approximation) are goodness-of-fit statistics that evaluate whether a proposed factor model adequately reproduces the observed covariance structure.