Psychometrics Laboratory

The Psychometrics Laboratory is a study and research center affiliated with the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences of the “Kore” University of Enna.

The Laboratory offers students and trainees the resources to learn how to use evaluation tools, conduct bibliographic research, carry out practical-guided exercises, process and interpret data, and prepare empirical and experimental degree theses.

The Laboratory, which is nourished by the collaboration of PhD students, scholarship holders and research fellows, is also a venue for internal internships, aimed at pursuing the following work objectives:

• Bibliographic research activity: the student will learn the importance of using and citing sources as a cornerstone of scientific communication. Through a practical-guided path, the student will learn how to access and use the main digital databases and the rules to follow for the correct compilation of an APA-style bibliography, according to internationally shared standards.
• Research project: the student will receive instructions on the process that leads to the drafting of research and intervention projects in the psychological and social fields. Through operational instructions and application examples, the student will have the opportunity to practice practically in the development and drafting of a project idea.
• Construction of a data matrix: the student will have the opportunity to work on the forms of organization of the available data and on the procedure for translating the raw empirical material into “cases by variables” matrices, through the creation of the record-trace and the application of the coding plan.
• Data entry procedure: the student will be guided through the exercise aimed at acquiring skills and dexterity in carrying out the procedure for entering the collected data into a suitably constructed database.
• Automated scoring: the student will receive useful instructions for calculating the test score through the application of scoring algorithms and the construction of specific spreadsheets.
• Methods of administration and scoring of psychometric instruments: the student will be guided in learning the procedures of administration and in the practice of attribution and interpretation of the score of psychometric instruments.
• Data analysis: the student will have the opportunity to receive practical knowledge for the application of the main data analysis techniques used in psychosocial research, also through practical-application exercises and the use of specific statistical software.

The Psychometrics Laboratory carries out research aimed at applying advanced methods and techniques of data analysis in the psychosocial field. The main topic of interest is focused on issues related to the methodological procedures of psychological testing, with specific reference to the construction of new measurement scales and the adaptation and validation of assessment tools in the various application fields of psychological investigation.

The Laboratory deals, in particular, with the following methodological procedures:

• Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis techniques;
• General linear model (regression/Anova);
• Mediation models;
• Path analysis;
• Moderation models;
• Conditional or moderated mediation models;
• Mixed linear model (random coefficients models, multilevel models);
• Generalized linear model (logistic, Poisson, multinomial);
• Structural equation models;
• Item Response Theory;
• Systematic review;
• Meta-analysis.