Assessing Probabilistic Reasoning in Verbal-Numerical and Graphical-Pictorial Formats: An Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of an Instrument
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Mirian Agus 1 * , Maria Pietronilla Penna 1, Maribel Peró-Cebollero 2, Joan Guàrdia-Olmos 2
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1 University of Cagliari - Faculty of Humanistic Studies
2 Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Spain
* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Background:
Research on the graphical facilitation of probabilistic reasoning has been characterised by the effort expended to identify valid assessment tools. The authors developed an assessment instrument to compare reasoning when problems were presented in verbal-numerical and graphical-pictorial formats.

Material and methods:
A sample of undergraduate psychology students (n=676) who had not developed statistical skills solved problems requiring probabilistic reasoning. They attended universities in Spain (n=127; f=71.7%) and Italy (n=549; f=72.9%). In Italy 173 undergraduates solved these problems in time pressure. The remaining students solved the problems without time limits.

Results:
Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) were applied to assess the effect of two formats and to evaluate criterion and discriminant validity.

Conclusions:
The instrument produced acceptable psychometric properties, providing preliminary evidence of validity.

Keywords

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1265a

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2016 - Volume 12 Issue 8, pp. 2013-2038

Publication date: 02 Jul 2016

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Article Downloads: 420

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