Advancing the Metrological Agenda in the Social Sciences

Abstract

For over 100 years social scientists have been measuring their subjects on scales regarded as linear. An early example is “The Thorndike Scale for Handwriting of Children” (Thorndike EL. The Thorndike Scale for Handwriting of Children. Bureau of Publications – Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, (1912)), where it is said that “The unit of the scale equals approximately one-tenth of the difference between the best and worst of the formal writings of 1000 children in Grades 5–8.” Though the construction of linear scales in social science has become more rigorous, an early feature continues. Each measurement scale represents a unique perspective on the target variable. Measurement scales for the same or similar target variables are rarely connected. This chapter describes how measurement units for similar scales can be aligned so that measures become independent of the specifics of the situation on which they are based.

Evaluation of Teaching Practice: Assessment of the Dimensionality of the Intern Teaching Evaluation Form (ITEF)

“…Hence, users of the ITEF scores should treat each section as a measure of the dimension of a separate construct for the purpose of ascertaining internal consistency, construct validity, and theory testing. However, considering the issue of 'use,' as a perspective in instrument development, which is stringently tied to the purpose for which instruments are designed (Linacre, 2023), the ITEF can be taken as unidimensional. This is by following the assertion of Van der Lans et al (2018) that, the different sections of the ITEF which require demonstration of skills in them as part of teaching behaviours in teacher development, can be ascribed to a single latent dimension, which is, teaching skill.…”

“…Lastly, considering the issue of 'use' as a perspective in instrument development, it must be understood that, multidimensionality is complicated, due to the fact that it depends on the purpose for which the assessment instrument was designed (Linacre, 2023). In exemplification, an arithmetic test (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) is said to be unidimensional from the point of view of the school administrator who is deciding whether a pupil should be promoted to the next grade-level.…”