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Tests and Measurement for People who (think they) Hate Tests and Measurement Salkind, N. J. (2006). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. [Paperback; ISBN# 1-4129-1364-0]
Book Review by Manoj Sbarma, University of Cincinnati
Measurement and testing is an integral and important part of research in alcohol and drug education. Several books are available in the field of measurement (Allen & Yen, 2001; DeVellis, 2003; Dilorio, 2005; Hand, 2005; Kline, 2005; Streiner & Norman, 2003) for graduate students and researchers. One such recent book is this book that is being reviewed. Neil Salkind from University of Kansas is the author and has used a conversational style filled with humor in writing this book. The book uses a practical approach to test construction and measurement. He has also authored the book Statistics for People Who (Think They) Hate Statistics and has had success with it.
The book is organized into five parts with 19 chapters. Each chapter has a humorous tide followed by an explanatory tide and begins with a rating through smiley faces which the author uses as a difficulty index for the chapter. The rating ranges from one smiley face (very hard) to five smiley faces (very easy). The rating has a potential of distracting the reader and does not seem to serve good purpose. For example, when a chapter is pre-rated difficult it preconditions the mind set of the reader that this is something difficult and may not get motivated to read it. Also, from a measurement perspective, that rating may not be accurate and valid for each reader. Each chapter has several icons. A bulb depicts material that goes beyond the regular text which requires elaboration and is outside the flow of the usual material. The icon of Tech talk describes ideas and tips about material beyond the scope of the text. The...