INNOVATIONS IN TEST CONSTRUCTION METHODOLOGY VERSUS TRADITIONAL TEST CONSTRUCTION METHODOLOGY: A COMPARATIVE STUD

This study involves the combination of numerous innovations suggested in the psychometric literature in the development of an experimental objective personality assessment instrument. This experimental instrument was then compared along several psychometrically relevant dimensions, and several subjective reactionary dimensions with the MMPI. These comparisons were performed to determine whether or not the newer test construction innovations would result in a superior instrument along the dimensions assessed. The MMPI was selected for comparison as it is the current standard for this type of test, and as it was developed following older "traditional" test construction methodology. The results of this comparison indicate that the experimental instrument was psychometrically superior to the MMPI in time efficiency, ability to discriminate between subjects as measured by the range and standard deviations of scales, in providing a more normal distribution of subjects as measured by skewness, and in internal consistency as measured by split-half reliability. The MMPI was subjectively viewed by comparison subjects as being easier to read.