In the social science questions, items or tests are used in order to measure social phenomena or concepts of interest, respectively. This course aims at encouraging participants regardless their discipline to learn about development and evaluation of high quality measurement instruments (i.e., multi-item scales, single-item measures). Measuring a social phenomenon of interest is not straightforward and presents a number of serious challenges. Usage of high quality measurement instruments as well as understanding of their development are thus key prerequisites for drawing appropriate conclusions with respect to the interpretation of research results. The course will address different phases of the development, evaluation, and quality assurance of measurement instruments. In addition, each session will introduce appropriate documentation standards. The course focuses on the measurement of latent variables within the frame of Classical Test Theory. The hands-on exercises will guide participants to apply the up-to-date concepts of reliability, validity, and quality standards learned in the theoretical sessions.

Course leader
Dr. Natalja Menold, Dr. Constanze Beierlein

Target group
Participants will find the course useful if they:- want to get introduction into development and evaluation of measurement instruments;- had prior experience with scale development and evaluation, but no (or insufficient) formal training;- want to get familiar with existing quality standards in the area of the measurement instruments- come from disciplines where quality of measurement instruments are not in the focus and would like to learn more about the subject.Prerequisites:- Participants should use or develop measurement instruments for their own research (or plan to do so);- participants need to be familiar with variance, covariance, correlation, hypothesis testing, and descriptive statistics;- knowledge of and experiences with the use of Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis are of advantage, but not mandatory.

Course aim
By the end of the course participants will:- have an understanding of the steps in scale development and be able to apply these steps themselves;- have acquired a thorough understanding of the quality concepts of measurement instruments and their associations with measurement errors;- able to evaluate and assure the quality of a measurement instrument;- be familiar with appropriate documentation standards;- be familiar with the most recent developments, literature and best practices in the field.

Credits info
4 ECTS - Certificate of attendance issued upon completion.Optional bookings:- 2 ECTS points via the University of Mannheim for regular attendance and satisfactory work on daily assignments (EUR 20).- 4 ECTS points via the University of Mannheim for regular attendance and satisfactory work on daily assignments and for submitting a paper/report of about 5000 words to the lecturer(s) up to 4 weeks after the end of the summer school (EUR 50).

Fee info
EUR 250: Student/PhD student rate. EUR 350: Academic/non-profit rate. Early bird discount: EUR 50 for applicants who book and pay by April 30.The rates include the tuition fee, course materials, the academic program, access to library and IT facilities, coffee/tea, and a number of social activities.

Scholarships
10 DAAD scholarships are available via the Center for Doctoral Studies in Social and Behavioral Sciences (CDSS) at the University of Mannheim.



GESIS-Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences
Address: Knowledge Transfer, Unter Sachsenhausen 6-8 Cologne
Postal code: 50667
City: Cologne
Country: Germany
Website: http://www.gesis.org/summerschool
E-mail: summerschool@gesis.org
Phone: +49-221-476940