Psychological measurement is an important issue throughout the Department of Defense (DoD). Forinstance, the DoD engages in psychological measurement to place military personnel into specialties,evaluate the mental health of military personnel, evaluate the quality of human-systems interactions, andidentify factors that affect crime rates on bases. Given its broad use, researchers and decision-makers needto understand the basics of psychological measurement – most notably, the development of surveys. Thisbriefing discusses 1) the goals and challenges of psychological measurement, 2) basic measurementconcepts and how they apply to psychological measurement, 3) basics for developing scales to measurepsychological attributes, and 4) methods for ensuring that scales are reliable and valid.
Suggested Citation
Wojton, Heather. Foundations of Psychological Measurement. IDA Document NS D-8273. Alexandria, VA: Institute for Defense Analyses, 2017.