How do you Behave as a Psychometrician?: Research Conduct in the Context of Psychometric Research

Abstract

The identification of fraudulent and questionable research conduct is not something new. However, in the last 12 years the aim has been to identify specific problems and concrete solutions applicable to each area of knowledge. For example, previous work has focused on questionable and responsible research conducts associated with clinical assessment, measurement practices in psychology and related sciences; or applicable to specific areas of study, such as suicidology. One area of study that merits further study of questionable and responsible research behaviors is psychometrics. Focusing on psychometric research is important and necessary, as without adequate evidence of construct validity the overall validity of the research is at least debatable. Our interest here is to (a) identifying questionable research conduct specifically linked to psychometric studies; and (b) promoting greater awareness and widespread application of responsible research conduct in psychometrics research. We believe that the identification and recognition of these conducts is important and will help us to improve our daily work as psychometricians.