Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Assessing The Strategic Credibility Of Special Collections, Erin Passehl, Rick A. Stoddart

Rick A Stoddart

In this time of often precarious funding at many colleges and universities, any case that can be made to illustrate how a department strategically fits into the overall university mission is not only worth merit, but an essential survival technique. This “strategic credibility” within the university is a vital form of currency in determining institution-wide resources prioritization, collaboration opportunities between organizational units, and overall direction of departments. This paper presents a case study of academic special collections in the Northwest and examines the methods these departments use to demonstrate value to the university. This paper considers how well do special …

Assessing Value From The Digital Collection End-User: The Western Writers Series Digital Editions Experience, Thomas Hillard, Rick A. Stoddart

Tom J. Hillard

How end-users and stakeholders value a digital collection is one of the most compelling questions in library assessment.This presentation reports on a series of interviews with stakeholders and potential end-users of the digital collection “Western Writers Series Digital Editions.” These interviews were undertaken to determine in what ways these digital humanities materials might be used by scholars and incorporated into their research process. Interview participants were identified through scholarly citations and works cited lists. The outcomes of these interviews are supplemented by additional interviews with the editors of the original print editions of the Western Writers Series, as well as …

Ruqual: A System For Assessing Post-Editing, Jason K. Housley

Theses and Dissertations

Post-editing machine translation has become more common in recent years due to the increase in materials requiring translation and the effectiveness of machine translation systems. This project presents a system for formalizing structured translation specifications that facilitates the assessment of the performance of a post-editor. This report provides details concerning two software applications: the Ruqual Specifications Writer, which aids in the authoring of post-editing project specifications, and the Ruqual Rubric Viewer which provides a graphical user interface for filling out a machine readable rubric file. The project as a whole relies on a definition of translation quality based on the …

The Development Of The Well-Being Interview, Craig Alexander Asselin

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Although psychologists and psychotherapists have long been concerned with the construct of well-being, currently there exist only self-report measures of the construct. This is potentially problematic because, as a number of researchers have pointed out, there are many different kinds of biases that can undermine the validity of data obtained from self-report measures. The purpose of this project was to develop a comprehensive, user-friendly, clinician administered interview to assess well-being. In order to accomplish this, the Well-Being Interview (WBI) was developed, based on recent developments in positive psychology (e.g., Diener (2000), Ryff (1995) and Seligman (2011) and theoretical unification (Henriques, …

Perceived Responsibility For Learning In College Students: A Construct Validity Study, Matthew S. Swain

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Responsibility for learning is an important, foundational construct for students in higher education. Because of its importance, higher education officials often design programs to inform students of their academic responsibilities. In order to assess these programs, a valid measure of responsibility for learning must be selected. In order to assess program effectiveness, measurement specialists collect validity evidence to support score interpretations. The current study focuses on the validity evidence of the Perceived Responsibility for Learning (PRL) scale. Benson’s (1998) framework for construct validation was used to examine current validity evidence and direct the study. Competing factor structures of the PRL …

Measuring Employability Among College Students: A Validity Study, Megan Rodgers

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The practice of assessment in higher education is often focused on measuring outcomes of student success. However, the potential for a student to obtain a job (i.e., their employability) after graduation is often not directly measured. This reality is unfortunate given the competitive job market and rising cost of an education. One scale, the Employability Skills Inventory (ESI) has been identified as a potential assessment instrument that purports to measure skills necessary for employment in most occupations. Before deciding to use any scale for a particular purpose, one must establish that the scale is both reliable and valid. The focus …

The Assessment Buffet, #11;Coming Back For Thirds, Elisa Slater Acosta

Elisa Slater Acosta

Bridging The Gap Through Collaboration:, Rebecca Arliss, Carlos Arguelles, Rodolfo Hernandez

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Incentives On Neuropsychological Test Performance: An Analog Study, Laura Marie Spenceley

Psychology - Dissertations

Concussion, also known as mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), represents a common injury in children, young adults, and athletes in particular. High rates of malingering have been demonstrated in individuals with MTBI when faced with monetary incentives, but research is yet to explore the impact of other incentives on test performance. The present study sought to examine the rate of effort test failure, symptom report, and neuropsychological test performance in college students assigned to one of three conditions: Fake Good, Fake Bad, and No Incentive conditions. All groups were asked to simulate concussion and provided a description of the injury …

Determining Multidimensional Gender: Development And Psychometrics Of A Measurement Instrument, Karyl Lounsbery

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gender identity is often thought of only as a binary construct, masculine and feminine, despite the fact that there are many people who do not see themselves as fitting this dichotomy (Rochman, 2006). Within the counseling field, it is likely that every counselor will eventually see someone who will be struggling with issues of gender identity (Ehrensaft, 2011). The introduction of the Arkansas Multidimensional Gender Scale (AMGS) will show there is a much broader scope of gender identity, more in line with the idea that all gender identities are normal and that there are as many gender identities as there …

Assessment Of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition: Possible Effects On Alpine Ecosystems Above 9000 Feet In Grand Teton National Park, Jennifer Hansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Certain forms of nitrogen (N) in the atmosphere are pollutants with effects that mimic fertilizer application. If there is too much N, it can become a stressor, and the ecosystem may undergo drastic changes (e.g. certain plant species may decline or disappear). The N load at which a system starts exhibiting negative effects is dependent on the type and location of the ecosystem. Alpine ecosystems (i.e. above 9000 feet in Wyoming) may be particularly sensitive to low levels of atmospheric N input because of short growing seasons, sparse plant cover, and shallow soils that limit their ability to absorb the …

You’Re Doing More Than You Think: Acknowledging The Small Victories In Assessing Digital Literacy Instruction, Rick A. Stoddart

Rick A Stoddart

The Role Of Dysregulation In Pediatric Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: An Examination Of Symptom Severity, Impairment And Treatment Outcome, Joseph F. Mcguire

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pediatric OCD is frequently complicated by co-occurrences with ADHD, mood and anxiety disorders. Although each of these disorders is associated with impaired self-regulation, there has been little examination of impaired self-regulation (i.e., dysregulation) in youth with OCD. Dysregulation is characterized by affective, behavioral and cognitive problems, and can be assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist-Dysregulation Profile (CBCL-DP). Dysregulation may help account for the varied yet related findings identified for symptom severity, impairment and treatment outcome in pediatric OCD. This study examined the role of dysregulation on symptom severity, impairment and treatment outcome in a large sample of youth with OCD. …

Academic Libraries And The Credit-Bearing Class: A Practical Approach, Margaret G. Burke

Communications in Information Literacy

Academic librarians are expanding their teaching roles and increasing numbers are involved in teaching information literacy by means of the credit-bearing class. Librarians at the Axinn Library at Hofstra University have been teaching credit-bearing classes since 2001. While doing research on the subject, the author found that the literature contained very little practical information concerning this important responsibility for academic librarians. In order to answer some questions that arose from Axinn librarians' experiences with credit-bearing classes, a survey was conducted using the Association of College and Research Libraries' Information Literacy Instruction's Discussion List as the study group. Among the topics …

Major Difference: An Examination Of Student Writing Performance By Major And Its Implications For Business Communication, Lucia S. Sigmar, Geraldine E. Hynes

Administrative Issues Journal

This study analyzes the writing performance levels of 352 students to determine the extent to which business students are achieving written communication competency and whether differences exist among the business majors. Although most students met or exceeded expectations in format and content on a common writing task, students were weakest in grammar and mechanics, with almost half scoring below expectations across all majors. The findings indicate no statistically significant differences in writing competency among majors. This study also suggests that business communicators can serve as “collegial consultants” in a cross-disciplinary effort to improve student writing.

The Promises And Realities Of Evidence-Based Practices: Perceptions From Assessment Personnel, Jessica A. Rueter, Cynthia G. Simpson

Administrative Issues Journal

Assessment personnel are those individuals who work in the capacity of evaluation of students with disabilities, including, but not limited to, educational diagnosticians, educational examiners, psychometrists, and instructional specialists. These professionals are responsible for identifying strengths and weaknesses and for providing teachers with evidence-based recommendations that can be implemented in the classroom to improve performance of students with learning deficits. This qualitative study examines 19 educational diagnosticians’ perceptions related to the barriers and supports that impacted their ability to provide evidence-based recommendations for students who are learning disabled. Three categories of barriers to issuing successful evidence-based recommendations emerged as a …

The Multi-Trajectory Theory Of Adult Firesetting (M-Ttaf), Therese A. Gannon, Caoilte Ó Ciardha, Rebekah M. Doley, Emma Alleyne

Rebekah Doley

The assessment and treatment of adults who set fires deliberately are underdeveloped relative to other areas of forensic-clinical psychology. From a scientist–practitioner perspective, all clinical assessment and treatment should be guided by a theoretical and empirically based understanding of the presenting clinical phenomena. In this paper, we critically review current typologies, motives, and theories regarding the etiological features of deliberate adult firesetting. Then, using a theory knitting perspective, we synthesize the prime parts of this information into a comprehensive multifactorial framework of deliberate firesetting. The resulting Multi-Trajectory Theory of Adult Firesetting (M-TTAF) is an integration of current theory, typological, and …

Tapping Into Student Feedback: Instant Surveying With A Tablet, Jennifer Jones, Bryan Sinclair

Bryan Sinclair

Ongoing assessment in academic libraries, particularly the measurement of student perceptions, preferences, and satisfaction, can be a challenge to schedule and execute. To address this challenge, Georgia State University Library piloted the use of tablet computers (iPads) loaded with survey software to poll subjects quickly in the library buildings. The result was a practical, hands-on model that maximized convenience for both subjects and researchers and that other campus administrative and academic units can easily adopt. Presenters will discuss methodology, the benefits of using tablets for formative assessment, recommendations, lessons learned, and ideas for future projects.

Tapping Into Student Feedback: Instant Surveying With A Tablet, Jennifer Link Jones

Jennifer L. Jones

Ongoing assessment in academic libraries, particularly the measurement of student perceptions, preferences, and satisfaction, can be a challenge to schedule and execute. Georgia State University Library piloted the use of a tablet computer--in this case, Apple’s iPad--loaded with survey software to poll subjects quickly in the library buildings. The result was a practical model that maximized convenience for both subjects and researchers, and that other campus administrative and academic units easily can adopt. Presenters will discuss methodology, benefits of using tablet computers for formative assessment, recommendations and lessons learned, and ideas for future projects.

Assessing Creativity With Self-Report Scales : A Review And Empirical Evaluation, Paul J. Silvia, Benjamin Wigert, Roni Reiter-Palmon, James C. Kaufman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This article reviews recent developments in the assessment of creativity using self-report scales. We focus on four new and promising scales: the Creative Achievement Questionnaire, the Biographical Inventory of Creative Behaviors, the revised Creative Behavior Inventory, and the Creative Domain Questionnaire. For each scale, we review evidence for reliability, validity, and structure, and we discuss important methodological features for users to consider. We then present new analyses of each scale based on a large, diverse sample. We evaluate each scale's item-level and scale-level psychometric features, using both classical test theory and item response theory, and we examine how the scales …

Peer Assessment Of Oral Presentations Using Clickers: The Student Experience, Graham Barwell, Ruth Walker

Ruth Walker

This paper reports student reactions to the use of a personal response system (clickers) to provide peer assessment. Trials were conducted in three upper level seminar classes in two different subjects in an Arts Faculty, where students were required to give individual in-class presentations as part of their assessable work. Class members assessed the presenters using criteria based on those used by the tutor, but modified to make them appropriate for student use. At the end of the session some students in the trials discussed their experiences in focus groups. The comments of those focus group participants are analysed to …

Food System Planning In Western Massachusetts: A Community Organization Assessment, Arianna R. G. Thompson

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Comprehensive planning for regional food systems is a relatively new focus in the planning field. Heightened national awareness of the economic, environmental and equity implications of our current food system has magnified the importance of planning engagement on food-system issues. While addressing food system concepts is relatively new to planners, community-based organizations have been historic players in the development of food-system programs and critical food-system policy, particularly with regard to food access and local food production. This thesis reviews the status of the regional food system in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts through an assessment of the efforts of …

Assessing Organizational Image Through The College Open House: A Tool For Success, Andrea M. Pampaloni, Andrea Vadaro Tucker

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This study evaluates how effective colleges and universities are in presenting an accurate and positive organizational image via their open house events. The Open House Assessment for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) © was developed to determine how institutional characteristics identified by potential members as influential to their decision to affiliate with a school were made relevant through the organizational image presented by the school. Open house events at twenty-four colleges and universities were assessed using the tool. Findings indicate that there are overall modifications to open house events that might benefit all schools, suggesting that the tool can be an …

Adapting Assessment For The Field Of Communication, Marcus Paroske, Sarah Rosaen

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

It has now become a universal mandate that communication programs conduct assessment of whether students attain selected learning outcomes. However, approaches to assessment unique to communication beyond the basic public speaking course are rare in the literature. This paper defends a “meta-assessment” approach to communication assessment as a key to negotiating the unique attributes of the field of communication, especially in heterogeneous academic departments and programs. It further argues that this approach can benefit assessment of similar, interdisciplinary academic programs.

Building Support For The Introductory Oral Communication Course: Strategies For Widespread And Enduring Support On Campus, Jon A. Hess

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

A strong introductory course is important for many communication departments, for the discipline, and for meeting our obligation to society. This paper utilizes the example of a recent curricular reform that threatened to eliminate a required oral communication course to reflect on strategies departments can use to build widespread and lasting support for the course. The paper reviews the events that led to the challenge and details the department’s response, which offers lessons that may be useful for other institutions. Four lessons include: tailoring the introductory course to the institution’s needs and mission, involvement in university work, making compelling use …

Reliability And Factor Structure Of The Psychological Maltreatment And Neglect Scales Of The Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory (Cami), Cindy L. Nash, Sarah A. Hayes-Skelton, David Dilillo

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Psychological Maltreatment (PM) and Neglect subscales of the Computer Assisted Maltreatment Inventory (CAMI; DiLillo et al., 2010). The CAMI is a retrospective self-report measure that assesses multiple forms of child maltreatment (i.e., sexual, physical, psychological, neglect, exposure to interparental violence) retrospectively from adults. The CAMI’s PM and Neglect subscales were administered to a geo-graphically diverse sample of 400 college students and a sample of 412 newlyweds. Exploratory fac-tor analyses were conducted for each group separately by subscale. Represented in the PM factor structures were items that …

Automating The Reporting Of Survey Data, Larry D. Long

Larry D. Long

The presentation explains how to automate the reporting of assessment data using the mailmerge feature in MS Word.

Distortion, Disparity, And Dubious Data: The Impact Of Accountability On Instructional Practice, Curtis Jack Barnes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the impact that state and federal accountability systems have had on instructional practice in two large Texas school districts by comparing the performance of students at these schools on individual items from the 2011 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) and relating performance to item difficulty and the schools' accountability risk as determined by prior accountability performance. To make this comparison, schools were placed into accountability risk groups based on past performance on the No Child Left Behind Act's (NCLB) Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) accountability instrument. The researcher then calculated the mean differences between average performance …

A Picture Is Worth 150 Words: Using Wordle To Assess Library Instruction, Rhonda K. Huisman, Kathleen A. Hanna

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2010

Tired of the "one minute paper" and other "quick and dirty" assessment tools? By using word clouds, students can demonstrate their grasp of library fundamentals and information literacy concepts in less than 10 minutes. Wordle [http://www.wordle.net] is an extremely user-friendly online tool that provides an active learning activity for students and allows librarians to rapidly evaluate what students recall from the instruction session. Use it for quick assessment of student comprehension of library jargon or compare the students' Wordle clouds with information literacy standards or the main points of your instruction. It's free, flexible, and looks great on a t-shirt.

Follow The Rubric Road: Assessing The Librarian Instructor, Ned Fielden

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2010

As librarians assume ever greater instructional roles in higher education, ongoing assessment is vital for maximizing instructional quality. Rubrics as an assessment mechanism are commonly used to gauge the extent of learning outcomes in classes and library instructional sessions. Rubrics allow for standardization of application, ease of use, and provide an expandable framework for quantitative evaluations, yet their use in evaluating library instructors has neither been widely explored nor employed.

This is a case study of the development of an instructor rubric at San Francisco State University, and will examine both theoretical and practical issues in the creation and application …