Generalizability Theory [Paperback]

Generalizability theory offers an extensive conceptual framework and a powerful set of statistical procedures for characterizing and quantifying the fallibility of measurements. Robert Brennan, the author, has written the most comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of generalizability theory. The book provides a synthesis of those parts of the statistical literature that are directly applicable to generalizability theory. The principal intended audience is measurement practitioners and graduate students in the behavioral and social sciences, although a few examples and references are provided from other fields. Readers will benefit from some familiarity with classical test theory and analysis of variance, but the treatment of most topics does not presume specific background.In 1972 a monograph by Cronbach, Gleser, Nanda, and Rajaratnam was published entitled The Dependability of Behavioral Measurements. That book incorporated, systematized, and extended their previous research into what came to be called generalizability theory, which liberalizes classical test theory, in part through the application of analysis of variance proce? dures that focus on variance components. Generalizability theory is perhaps the most broadly defined measurement model currently in existence, and the Cronbach et al. (1972) treatment of the theory represents a major con? tribution to psychometrics. However, as Cronbach et al. (1972, p. 3) state, their book is complexly organized and by no means simple to follow and, of course, it is nearly 30 years old. In 1983, ACT, Inc. published my monograph entitled Elements of Gen? eralizability Theory, with a slightly revised version appearing in 1992. That treatment is considerably less comprehensive than Cronbach et al. (1972) but still detailed enough to convey much ofthe richness of the theory and to facilitate its application. However, the 1983/1992 monograph is essen? tially two decades old, it does not cover multivariate generalizability thl“'