Relations to other Variables: 2018 Convergent & Divergent Correlations

Abstract

One of the primary validity evidences established in The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA, APA, NCME, 2014) comes via relations between the measurement of interest and other established constructs. This is accomplished through convergent and divergent correlations. The idea behind this type of evidence is that instruments should positively correlate with similar but established constructs and not correlate with unrelated constructs. Ideally, convergent correlation would be positive but without being extremely high as correlations too high would suggest the instrument under review offers little beyond what the established instrument already measures. FSSE’s relationship to other variables has not been demonstrated. Thus, this study examines whether FSSE scales relate to other variables as expected.