Test Preparation and Specification
Kenneth S. Shultz, David J. Whitney, Michael J. Zickar · 2020
Clear specification of the domain to be assessed determines the limits the test is intended to have, and is essential for evaluating the content validity of the test. By limiting the domain to that context in which the people are specifically interested, they will likely reduce the amount of error associated with the test, thus increasing the internal consistency reliability. Under the general rubric of political conservatism, one might want to develop specific subscales assessing the dimensions of social, economic, and ecological conservatism. In identifying the dimensionality of a construct, the people help ensure that the entire construct is fully assessed. In identifying that a construct is multidimensional or multifaceted, it becomes imperative to consider how much weight each dimension or facet should have in the final scale. Once a decision has been made to use open-ended items, closed-ended items, or some combination of both, the test developer must further choose the type of item format.