Definition or Description:

Psychometrics/Statistical skills are concerned with the measurement of human characteristics and the design and analysis of research based on those measurements. In the context of the meta-profession of college teaching, skill in psychometrics/statistics is critical in any activity involving educational assessment or evaluation (at either the individual, course, or programmatic level).

Comment:

As noted in the previous cell, statistical expertise is not required for many SoTL applications because their emphasis is on the classroom, the methods may be qualitative, and there is not a need to develop broad generalizations. Nonetheless, there are many instances where the potential application of statistics is suggested. For example, a small SoTL study in one classroom may suggest a wider study in multi-section courses, in similar content areas, or in similar teaching/learning situations. This kind of exploration might lead to policy or curricular decisions at the program, college, or institutional level. In such cases, knowledge of statistics can help faculty to devise better research questions and to create more robust instruments that will be useful in similar situations. Thus, despite the infrequent need in single cases, knowledge of statistics can be very helpful.

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