Canadian Psychologists' Attitudes, Beliefs, and Perceptions about Test Feedback

• Author / Creator

  Zhou, Hansen

• This study is a qualitative secondary analysis of open-ended survey comments from a national survey of Canadian psychologists (n = 399) that extends the research of Jacobson, Hanson, and Zhou (2015). A case study research design is employed utilizing Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) analytic procedures. These procedures emphasize the use of team consensus coding to establish trustworthiness in the findings. In this study, four team members and an auditor participated in analyses. The overarching research question is “What are Canadian Psychologists perceptions of test feedback (TFB)?” with an additional focus on the use and practice of TFB, factors influencing TFB practices, and TFB training. Results show that psychologists provide TFB in a variety of practice settings and connect the practice of TFB to other clinical activities, such as treatment planning. Psychologists state that tailoring feedback to client needs, collaborating with clients, and integrating test results are components of effective TFB. Ethical issues noted by psychologists are a lack of awareness of the standards of practice associated with TFB and competency issues like over-interpretation of results. Psychologists also comment on unique situations where feedback is provided to a third-party or caregiver rather than the testing individual. Finally, psychologists emphasize various gaps in academic training for TFB, such as a curriculum-based prioritization of written versus verbal TFB. Many psychologists developed their TFB skills through experiential training, such as a practicum or general clinical experience. Limitations of the study, recommendations for clinical practice, and directions for future research are discussed.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Consensual qualitative research
  • Training
  • Perceptions
  • Test feedback
  • Psychological assessment

• Graduation date

  Spring 2017

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Education

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3R78617F

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.