Ph.D. PROGRAM IN PSYCHOMETRICS
Dr. Charles Lewis, Program Director
718-817-3881
clewis@fordham.edu
Program Description
The psychometrics program at Fordham University focuses on
the quantitative, research-oriented commonalities relevant to
most of the behavioral sciences and their applications in industry,
education, and the health sciences. Students in the psychometrics
program gain familiarity with a repertoire of statistical, psychological
testing, and other research techniques, as well as skills in
computer utilization.
Upon graduation, psychometrics students should be able to function
in such job activities as test construction and use, applied
and basic research of various types, as well as a range of program
evaluation functions. Sophistication in measurement and evaluation
can provide employment opportunities consonant with the current
social emphasis on increasing standards of performance, equality
of opportunity and accountability in the delivery of human services
such as mental health services, education, and selection and
training programs in industry.
Psychometrics students are expected to demonstrate substantial
grounding in general psychology, as well as their concentration
in psychometrics. They interact with faculty regularly and students
in the other psychology doctoral programs. Both graduates and
their employers report that a Fordham student's grounding in
general psychology, in addition to psychometric expertise, clearly
distinguishes them from their peers.
What is Psychometrics?
Psychology is a diverse and exciting field. As pioneers in
a relatively youthful science psychologists worldwide strive
to improve every aspect of human life, from planning urban construction
and zoning to human-computer interaction. Across all disciplines
of psychology there is a common thread that unites all researchers
and scientists in the field. This unifying discipline is psychometrics.
Psychometrics, being concerned with the design and analysis
of research and the measurement of human characteristics, has
enjoyed a history of rapid growth and development since its origins
with the work of Binet in France and Spearman in England, and
the earlier efforts of Galton and his anthropometric laboratory.
The field of psychometrics has been the genesis of intelligence
testing, personality testing, and vocational testing, and has
contributed to the emergence of new approaches and methods to
psychological measurement based on the demands of society and
the emergence of new technology. Psychometricians have also worked
collaboratively with those in the field of statistics and quantitative
methods to develop improved ways to organize and analyze data.
Today all psychologists who conduct research or who develop psychological
measures must be concerned with psychometric issues to ensure
the validity of their work. These psychometric principles provide
the backbone of psychology as an objective science.
Despite the importance and widespread application of psychometric
principles there are actually relatively few universities that
offer a Ph.D. in Psychometrics and many undergraduate psychology
majors who are not familiar with the work of psychometricians.
This may be due in part to the under representation of psychometricians
in academic settings as a result of the wide variety of competitive
occupational opportunities open to graduates of psychometric
programs.
Of course the most obvious area in which psychometricians are
employed is in psychological testing. Testing, whether it be
of intelligence, personality, achievement, aptitudes, interests,
or proficiency, is a widespread and important practice in our
society. Testing is employed in schools, organizations, business,
government, clinical settings and hospitals, as well as in the
military. The impact of testing on individuals, organizations,
and our culture is substantial and this reinforces the importance
of high professional standards for the development, administration,
and interpretation of tests. Due to the potential impact of testing
on everyone's lives the practice of testing is also controversial
and our society depends on the efforts of psychometricians to
continue striving for more valid, reliable, and efficient tests.
Psychometricians are not limited to working within the testing
industry however. Many psychometricians are employed in industrial
and organizational settings performing job analyses, consumer
surveys, developing and validating personnel selection procedures,
and performing market research. Positions in private and public
consulting agencies, clinical research positions, and positions
in managerial and administrative roles are also open to graduates
of psychometric programs. Psychometricians can even find employment
as researchers in fields only tangentially related to psychology,
as statisticians, expert witnesses, and of course, in academic
settings as well.
The field of psychometrics has made and continues to make important
contributions to psychology and to our society. Psychometric
principles, applications, and issues continue to permeate every
aspect of psychology and impact many peoples lives. The complex
issues brought on by our rapidly changing society provide new
challenges for psychometricians and new directions for the future
of psychometrics
Where Do Psychometricians Work?
Resources
American Psychological Association
American Education Research Association
Association for Psychological Science
Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics
Randomizer
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