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whichisusedtoassessanindividual’sstanding divided into two equal halves employing odd- in relation to others on some mental or even method (items 1,3,5,— in one group and behavioural characteristics. Two things are items 2,4,6,— in another group) and worth noting in this definition: objectivity and correlation is computed between the scores standardisation. Objectivity refers to the fact of odd and even items. that if two or more researchers administer a For a test to be usable, it should also be psychological test on the same group of people, valid. Validity refers to the question : “Does both of them would come up with more or the test measure what it claims to measure”? less the same values for each person in the For example, if you have constructed a test of group. In order for a psychological test to mathematics achievement, whether the test become an objective measure, it is essential is measuring mathematical achievement or that items should be worded in such a manner for example, language proficiency. that they communicate the same meaning to Finally, a test becomes a standardised test different readers. Also, the instructions to the when norms are developed for the test. As test takers about how to answer the test items mentioned earlier, norm is the normal or should be specified in advance. The procedure average performance of the group. The test is of administering the test such as administered on a large number of students. environmental conditions, time limit, mode of Their average performance standards are set administration (individual or group) should be based on their age, sex, place of residence, spelt, and the procedure for scoring of the etc. This helps us in comparing the participants’ responses need to be described. performance of an individual student with The construction of a test is a systematic others of the same group. It also helps in process and involves certain steps. It involves interpreting individuals’ score obtained on a detailed analysis of items, and estimating test. reliability, validity, and norms of the whole test. Types of Tests Reliability of the test refers to the consistencyofscores obtained by an individual Psychological tests are classified on the basis of their language, mode of administration, and on the same test on two different occasions. difficulty level. Depending upon the language, For example, you administer the test to a group of students today and re-administer it wehaveverbal,non-verbal,andperformance on the same set of students after some time, tests. Literacy is required for taking verbal let us say 20 days. If the test is reliable, theretests as the items have to be written in some language. In non-verbal tests, items are made should not be any variation in the scores obtained by the students on the two occasions. of symbols or pictures. Performance tests For this, we can compute test-retest require movement of objects from their reliability, which indicates the temporal respective places in a particular order. stability (or stability of the test scores over Depending upon the mode of administration, psychological tests are divided time). It is computed by finding out co-efficient of correlation between the two sets of scores into individual or group tests. An individual on the same set of persons. Another kind of test is administered by the researcher to one test reliability is called split-half reliability. Itson at a time, while group tests can be gives an indication about the degree of internal administered to large number of persons at the same time. In individual tests, the consistency of the test. This is based on the assumption that items of a test if they are from researcher administers the test face to face the same domain should correlate with each and remains seated before the test taker and other. If they are from different domains, e.g., notes down the responses. In the group test, apples and oranges, then they would not. For the instructions about answering the items, finding out internal consistency, the test is etc., are written on the test, which the test 33 Chapter 2 • Methods of Enquiry in Psychology Reprint 2026-27