Measuring Individual Differences

In this course, you will learn how to apply modern validity theory and psychometric methods to appropriately develop and use scales measuring psychological attributes.

• Overview of construct validity theory and types of validity evidence
• Item writing
• Item content review and think-aloud protocol
• Interpreting item analysis
• Overview of types of factor analysis
• Interpreting exploratory factor analysis
• Interpreting reliability analysis
• Interpreting and evaluating validity evidence for scale selection and use

The course meets in person over two days from 9.00am to 5.00pm each day. Class will take place at SmithToronto, 200 Front Street West, 30th floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The course will focus on scale development and refinement with psychometric methods that can be implemented in many statistical software packages. Because this is a hands-on course, learners are encouraged to bring a laptop to class with a copy of R or SPSS installed. However, instruction will focus on demonstrating the statistical techniques and interpreting the most common outputs in various software programs. Provided materials and examples will include analysis scripts with annotated output from both SPSS and R.

This course will be helpful for researchers in any field —including psychology, sociology, education, business, human development, social work, public health, communication and others that rely on social science methodology —who want to develop and use scales to measure psychological attributes. Learners should have background knowledge in introductory statistics topics such as univariate statistical tests, descriptive statistics, and correlation. Ideally learners should be comfortable with multiple regression techniques. Though proficiency in a specific software isn’t required, ideally participants will have some familiarity with running analyses using some type of statistical software (e.g., R, SPSS, SAS, STATA).

Upon completing this course, you will

• Be able to define construct validity and describe different forms of validity evidence
• Evaluate scale items for poor, confusing, or problematic wording
• Use descriptive statistics to quantitatively evaluate item properties
• Use qualitative approaches to review item content
• Compare different approaches to factor analysis
• Compare different approaches to quantifying reliability
• Interpret an exploratory factor analysis
• Interpret a reliability analysis
• Evaluate multiple sources of validity evidence to select a scale
• Evaluate multiple sources of validity evidence to develop or refine a scale

A certificate of completion from the Canadian Centre for Research Analysis and Methods is provided at the end of the course.

• "Jessica was a fantastic instructor--good energy, engaging, highly informative. She was also happy to answer questions and discuss various research endeavors. The course content was excellent."
• "I truly loved this workshop and Jessica's relatable and energizing presentation style. Thank you for a wonderful learning experience!"
• "Dr. Flake is one of the best teachers ever!"

How do I register for this course?

Click the "Register now" button. This will take you to the registration portal operated by the Continuing Education program at University of Calgary. You should be able to put the class into your cart and check out just like you would when shopping. To pay the registration fee, you have to log into your Continuing Education account or, more likely, set one up. Follow the prompts on the screen for setting up an account as a new user.

The registration is asking for a SIN (Social Insurance Number). But I don't have one. What I do?

A SIN is a number that all citizens or residents of Canada have. If you are not one and so don't, this section of the registration does not apply to you. If you don't have one and the system insists you enter it, try leaving this field blank (make sure there are no hidden characters such as a blank space) or entering a string of nine zeros. If this still doesn't work, contact us at ccram@ucalgary.ca and we will assist you further.

When and where is this course being offered?

This course meets from 9am to 5pm on May 14-15, 2026, at Simcoe Place, 200 Front Street West in Toronto. The SmithToronto facility where the classroom is located is on the 30th floor. You will see a Queen's University sign near the entrance to the building (though Queen's University is primarily in the city of Kingston a few hundred kilometers away).

Where can I stay in Toronto?

Toronto is a huge city with many hotels in the area. The Smith Toronto facility is very close to Union station where many trains (e.g., from the airport) and the main north-south subway line (line #1) pass through (see this map). Toronto can also be an expensive city to visit depending on the time of year and where your hotel is located. In general, the closer the hotel is to Union station, the more expensive the hotel will be. And hotels tend to get more expensive the closer your reservation is to the North American summer (June/July/August). If you are on a limited budget, book as soon as you are sure you are attending the class, and look for hotels further away from Union Station but near the number 1 subway line. Toronto is a very walkable and generally a very safe city, so feel to walk from your hotel if you would prefer. There are also buses and street cars/trams operated by and throughout the city.

I am flying into Toronto. Should I fly into Pearson (YYZ) or Billy Bishop (YTZ) airport?

Most flights to and from Toronto arrive/depart Pearson airport, including most from the U.S., Europe, and other locations beyond Canada's borders. There is a train service called the "Union-Pearson" or "UP" line between YYZ and Union Station. Look for the signs in the airport and Union station. The Billy Bishop airport has some regional flights between Toronto and various locations in Canada and also has some arrivals and departures to/from the U.S. Billy Bishop is small and on an island in Lake Ontario just across from downtown and Union station and so is quite convenient and avoids some of the hassles of larger airports such as Pearson. You can even walk between Billy Bishop airport and downtown through a tunnel under the lake.