MESA 6210 Instrument Design and Development
Data collection instruments are commonly employed by educational and social science researchers to collect information about cognitive, affective, attitudinal and psychological constructs. This course explores principles and techniques applied to develop cognitive tests and survey instruments. Topics covered include: validity and reliability; construct definition and representation; item writing principles; bias, sensitivity, and accessibility; cross-cultural considerations; scaling methods; and techniques for examining item and scale properties. Upon completion of the course, participants will be positioned to develop cognitive test and survey instruments independently for their own research initiatives.
Course overview
- Department
- Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment
- School
- Lynch
- Credits
- 3
- Level
- Graduate
- Offered
- Biannually in the Fall
Catalog details
- Prerequisites
- Permission of Department
Course evaluations
- Course rating
- 4.24 / 5 · Very Good
- Instructor rating
- 4.51 / 5 · Excellent
- Terms evaluated
- 3
| Term | Instructor | Course overall | Instructor overall | Well organized | Clear learning objectives | Intellectually challenging | Helpful assignments | Applicable beyond course | Attendance necessary | Weekly effort | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2026 | Sebastian Moncaleano-Wallrich | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4–6 hrs/week | 20 of 24 |
| Spring 2025 | Michael K Russell | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.5 | — | 22 of 25 |
| Spring 2024 | Michael K Russell | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4–6 hrs/week | 17 of 21 |