Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T20:42:20.207Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The order effect: reflections on the validity of multiple test presentations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Christopher P. Lucas
Christopher P. Lucas*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine (Children), Clarendon Wing, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds
*
1 Address for correspondence: Dr Christopher P. Lucas, Academic Department of Child Psychiatry, Thorneywood Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Porchester Road, Nottingham NG3 6LF.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

The effect of order has been previously addressed in test–retest studies but its effect on the presentation of more than one test, in the same time, is often underestimated. This study has shown that when two rating scales were given sequentially, each scored lower if received second in the pair, and that this particular form of order effect (occasion effect) was enough to affect markedly agreement on caseness when utilizing standard cut-off scores. It is therefore important that research workers not only adopt design strategies such as counterbalanced presentation, but also analyse their data for the effects of test order and position within such designs.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , February 1992 , pp. 197 - 202
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Referemces

Achenbach, T. M. & Edelbrock, C. S. (1983). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist and Revised Child Behavior Profile. University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry: Burlington.Google Scholar
Anastasi, A. (1976) Psychological Testing, 4th edn.Macmillan: New York.Google Scholar
Andreasen, N. C., Grove, W. M., Shapiro, R. W., Keller, M. B., Hirschfield, R. M. A. & McDonald-Scott, P. (1981). Reliability of lifetime diagnosis: a multicentre collaborative perspective. Archives of General Psychiatry 38, 400–405.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anthony, J. C., Folstein, M., Romanoski, A. J., Von Korff, M. R., Nestadt, G. N., Chahal, R., Merchant, A., Brown, C. H., Shapiro, S., Kramer, M. & Gruenberg, E. M. (1985). Comparison of lay Diagnostic Interview Schedule and a standardised psychiatric diagnosis: Experience in Eastern Baltimore. Archives of General Psychiatry 42, 667–675.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cronbach, L. J. (1970). Essentials of Psychological Testing, 3rd edn.Harper & Row: New York.Google Scholar
Fombonne, E. (1979). The Child Behavior Checklist and Rutter Parental Questionnaire: a comparison between two screening instruments. Psychological Medicine 19, 775–785.Google Scholar
Gart, J. J. (1969). An exact test for comparing matched proportions in cross-over designs. Biometrika 56, 75–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guilford, J. P. (1954). Psychometric Methods McGraw Hill: London.Google Scholar
Helzer, J. E., Robins, L. N., McEvoy, L. T., Spitznagel, E. L., Stoltzman, R. K., Farmer, A. & Brockington, I. F. (1985). A comparison of clinical and Diagnostic Interview Schedule diagnosis: physician re-examination of lay-interviewed cases in the general population. Archives of General Psychiatry 42, 657–666.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henderson, S., Byrne, D. G. & Duncan-Jones, P. (1981). Neurosis and the Social Environment. Academic Press: Sydney, Australia.Google Scholar
Hills, M. & Armitage, P. (1979). The two-period cross over clinical trial. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 8, 7–20.Google Scholar
Hollingworth, H. L. (1910). The central tendency of judgement. Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods 7, 461–468.Google Scholar
Honaker, L. M. (1988). The equivalency of computerised and conventional MMPI administration. Clinical Psychology Review 8, 561–577.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jorm, A. F., Duncan-Jones, P. & Scott, R. (1989). An analysis of the test-retest artefact in longitudinal studies of psychiatric symptoms and personality. Psychological Medicine 19, 487–493.Google Scholar
Lilliefors, H. W. (1967). On the Kolmogorov Smirnov test for normality with mean and variance unknown. Journal of the American Statistical Association 62, 399–402.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lucas, C. P. (1990). Computerised administration of rating scales in Child Psychiatry. M.Med.Sc. thesis: Department of Psychiatry, University of Leeds.Google Scholar
Mook, D. G. (1982). Psychological Research: Strategy and Tactics. Harper & Row: New York.Google Scholar
Preston, M. G. (1936). Contrast effects and the psychophysical judgements. American Journal of Psychology 48, 389–402.Google Scholar
Robins, L. N. (1985) Epidemiology: reflections on testing the validity of psychiatric interviews. Archives of General Psychiatry 42, 918–924.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rutter, M. L., Tizard, J. & Whitmore, K. (1970). Education, Health and Behaviour Longman: London.Google Scholar
Siegel, S. & Castellan, N. J. (1988). Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, 2nd edn.McGraw Hill: Singapore.Google Scholar
SPSS (1989). SPSS/PC + Update for V3.0 and V3.1. SPSS Inc.: Chicago.Google Scholar
Thorndike, E. L. (1920). A constant error in psychological ratings. Journal of Applied Psychology 4, 25–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar