Skip to main content

Presenting the Psychometric Evidence for Psychological Measures: A Proposal and Thoughts on Questionable Research Practices

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Avoiding Questionable Research Practices in Applied Psychology

Abstract

There is little guidance and much variability regarding the description of psychological measures and their associated psychometric evidence in scientific reports in psychology. This hinders the ability of the reader to properly evaluate the degree to which these measures actually measure what the authors intend to measure. This chapter advocates for a more standardized approach to reporting the psychometric evidence that is based on five key principles. In reference to the psychometric evidence of a measure used in a scientific report, the write-up should: (a) argue what are the most relevant psychometric dimensions; (b) acknowledge the multidimensional nature of psychometric evidence; (c) acknowledge any missing and conflicting psychometric data; (d) present quantified psychometric information; and (e) acknowledge the conditional nature of the psychometric evidence across sample characteristics, dimensions of individual differences, and assessment contexts. A case example is provided to exemplify the use of these principles in a scientific report in psychology.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • American Psychological Association. (2011). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bond, F. W., & Bunce, D. (2003). The role of acceptance and job control in mental health, job satisfaction, and work performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 1057–1067.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gámez, W., Chmielewski, M., Kotov, R., Ruggero, C., & Watson, C. (2011). Development of a measure of experiential avoidance: The multidimensional experiential avoidance questionnaire. Psychological Assessment, 23, 692–713. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023242

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg, D. (1978). Manual of the general health questionnaire. Windsor: National Foundation for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gross, A. (1996). The rhetoric of science. Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, S. C., Bissett, R., Roget, N., Padilla, M., Kohlenberg, B. S., Fisher, G., Masuda, A., Pistorello, J., Rye, A. K., Berry, K., & Niccolls, R. (2004). The impact of acceptance and commitment training and multicultural training on the stigmatizing attitudes and professional burnout of substance abuse counselors. Behavior Therapy, 35, 821–836.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K., Wilson, K. G., Bissett, R. T., Pistorello, J., Toarmino, D., … Stewart, S. H. (2004). Measuring experiential avoidance: A preliminary test of a working model. The Psychological Record, 54(4), 553–578.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haynes, S. N., Kaholokula, J. K. A., & Tanaka-Matsumi, J. (2018). Psychometric foundations of psychological assessment with diverse cultures: What are the concepts, methods, and evidence? In Cultural competence in applied psychology (pp. 441–472). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Haynes, S. N., Smith, G., & Hunsley, J. R. (2019). Scientific foundations of clinical assessment (2nd ed.). Taylor and Francis/Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunsley, J., & Mash, E. J. (Eds.). (2019). A guide to assessments that work (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Masuda, A., Hayes, S. C., Fletcher, L. B., Seignourel, P. J., Bunting, K., Herbst, S. A., … Lillis, J. (2007). Impact of acceptance and commitment therapy versus education on stigma toward people with psychological disorders. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45(11), 2764–2772.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Popper, K.R. (1957). The logic of scientific discovery. Open Court.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyndall, I., Waldeck, D., Pancani, L., Whelan, R., Roche, B., & Dawson, D. L. (2019). The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II) as a measure of experiential avoidance: Concerns over discriminant validity. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 12, 278–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolgast, M. (2014). What does the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II) really measure? Behavior Therapy, 45(6), 831–839.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to William O’Donohue .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

O’Donohue, W., Masuda, A., Haynes, S.N. (2022). Presenting the Psychometric Evidence for Psychological Measures: A Proposal and Thoughts on Questionable Research Practices. In: O'Donohue, W., Masuda, A., Lilienfeld, S. (eds) Avoiding Questionable Research Practices in Applied Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04968-2_13

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics