%0 Journal Article
%T A Protocol for Advanced Psychometric Assessment of Surveys
%A Janet E. Squires
%A Leslie Hayduk
%A Alison M. Hutchinson
%A Lisa A. Cranley
%A Mark Gierl
%A Greta G. Cummings
%A Peter G. Norton
%A Carole A. Estabrooks
%J Nursing Research and Practice
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/156782
%X Background and Purpose. In this paper, we present a protocol for advanced psychometric assessments of surveys based on the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. We use the Alberta Context Tool (ACT) as an exemplar survey to which this protocol can be applied. Methods. Data mapping, acceptability, reliability, and validity are addressed. Acceptability is assessed with missing data frequencies and the time required to complete the survey. Reliability is assessed with internal consistency coefficients and information functions. A unitary approach to validity consisting of accumulating evidence based on instrument content, response processes, internal structure, and relations to other variables is taken. We also address assessing performance of survey data when aggregated to higher levels (e.g., nursing unit). Discussion. In this paper we present a protocol for advanced psychometric assessment of survey data using the Alberta Context Tool (ACT) as an exemplar survey; application of the protocol to the ACT survey is underway. Psychometric assessment of any survey is essential to obtaining reliable and valid research findings. This protocol can be adapted for use with any nursing survey. 1. The Alberta Context Tool Organizational context is ¡°¡­the environment or setting in which people receive healthcare services, or in the context of getting research evidence into practice, the environment or setting in which the proposed change is to be implemented¡± ([1], page 299). Context is believed to influence the successful implementation of research evidence by nurses in healthcare settings internationally. However, there is little empirical evidence to support this claim. One reason for this is the absence of a robust measure of organizational context in healthcare. The Alberta Context Tool (ACT) was developed in 2006 to address this gap. Underpinned by the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARiHS) framework [1, 2] and related literature [3, 4], the ACT was constructed to measure healthcare providers¡¯ and care managers¡¯ perceptions of modifiable dimensions of organizational context; their responses can then be aggregated to provide nursing unit and/or organizational (e.g., hospital or nursing home or home care office) estimates of context. Three principles informed the development of the ACT: use of the PARiHS framework and related literature to identify a comprehensive set of contextual concepts, brevity¡ªit could be completed in 20 minutes or less, and a focus on modifiable (and therefore researchable) elements of context
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/nrp/2013/156782/