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The 5Ws of Data Collection with PAR
August 24, 2021

Why?

Many of us are familiar with the ethics of psychological testing, including carefully choosing tests based on how they were standardized. Have you ever found yourself curious, flipping through a manual, wondering if the population you work with was adequately represented in the creation of a test? One way you can ensure this, contribute to the field, and be compensated for your time is by participating in data collection with PAR! Data collectors are essential to research and development of psychological tests and are often the first to know what products and assessments will be hitting the market.

Who can collect data?

Most of our data collectors are clinical psychologists, school psychologists, psychometrists, speech and language pathologists, and other clinicians. PAR follows the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Guidelines for Psychological Assessment and Evaluation, a system of qualification levels that guides decision-making about who can purchase, administer, and interpret tests (APA, 2020). Anyone administering assessments must be well trained in standardized administration protocols, ethics, and demonstrate competency in practice. For data collection, requirements differ by test. Most projects require a PAR qualification level of B or C.

Qualification Level: B

  • A degree from an accredited 4-year college or university in psychology, counseling, speech-language pathology, or a closely related field plus satisfactory completion of coursework in test interpretation, psychometrics and measurement theory, educational statistics, or a closely related area; or license or certification from an agency that requires appropriate training and experience in the ethical and competent use of psychological tests.

Qualification Level: C

  • All qualifications for level B plus an advanced professional degree that provides appropriate training in the administration and interpretation of psychological tests, or license or certification from an agency that requires appropriate training and experience in the ethical and competent use of psychological tests.

What will I be asked to do?

Data collectors are responsible for finding participants and are compensated on a per-case basis that varies by project. PAR does not pay participants directly, although we can provide gift cards for your participants at your request, deducted from the total amount per case. There is no minimum number of reservations required. We are thankful for any data you can provide for us!

Data collectors submit required demographic information for the participants they intend to test. It is imperative for data collectors to provide accurate demographic information. PAR uses Census-based norming, and we must ensure all demographic groups are appropriately represented. The data collection team at PAR will make a reservation for each participant based on demographics provided. Once a reservation has been made, materials will be provided to data collectors to begin testing.

  • Each data collection project is slightly different, ranging from completing rating scales online to administering performance-based tests in person. The general process involves obtaining informed consent from the participant, administering the test, and submitting data and materials to PAR.
  • We are grateful for our data collectors and try to demonstrate this via prompt payment for your efforts.

What are the types of data collection?

Pilot

  • Preliminary data collection on proposed measure with a small sample to determine any concerns that need to be addressed.

Standardization

  • Gathering data using the proposed measure with entire sample to create norms; determining what is typical for the population studied.
  • PAR uses Census-based norming to ensure the sample is proportionally representative of the demographics of the United States. We ask for age/grade, sex, race/ethnic group, and participant’s or parent’s educational attainment. We monitor the data closely to ensure each region is represented.
  • The standardization stage of a project provides additional data collection opportunities to gather reliability data through interrater and test–retest cases, as well as validity data using concurrent measures.

Clinical Groups

  • Specific clinical groups may be needed for certain projects. These clinical cases may require additional documentation from the data collector and typically are compensated at a higher rate. Please let PAR know the clinical groups you have access to by completing those questions on the Examiner Information Form.

When do I sign up?

Now! Data collection projects are currently in process.

Where do I sign up?

Simply complete the Examiner Information Form and Nondisclosure Agreement and send the forms to Kathryn Stubleski at  kstubleski@parinc.com.

We look forward to working with you!

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