Summary

In Psychometrics, R Michael Furr and Verne R Bacharach centre their presentation of material around a conceptual understanding of psychometric issues, such as validity and reliability, and on purpose rather than procedure, the ′why′ rather than the ′how to′. By emphasizing concepts over mathematical proofs and by focusing on practical significance, this book will assist students in appreciating not just how measurement problems can be addressed but why it is important to address them.

The Second Edition has been thoroughly revised to improve the clarity and accessibility of key concepts and to increase the depth of discussions. Many new tables and figures have been added and the references have been significanly updated and expanded. An entirely new chapter on confirmatory factor analysis has also been added to this edition. This new chapter focuses on the use of CFA to evaluate measurement models, including in-depth discussion of the logic and interpretation of the process.

Key features of this volume:

- presents information in a clear, easy-to-read, conversational style: the authors introduce concepts in a way that is accessible to non-professionals without sacrificing the academic integrity of the material

- highlights practical applications: intended to enhance readers′ appreciation of the importance of psychometrics, the book provides examples that will resonate with students

- offers an up-to-date treatment of topics in psychometrics: the book offers readers the most contemporary views of topics in psychometrics available in the non-technical psychometric literature

- introduces statistical procedures in the context of their use rather than in a separate chapter: the authors integrate statistics with a discussion of their use as tools to solve particular psychometric problems, encouraging a more complete understanding of both.