Objectives: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs; self-report assessments) are increasingly important in evaluating medical care and treatment efficacy. Electronic administration of PROs via computer is becoming widespread. This article reviews the literature addressing whether computer-administered tests are equivalent to their paper-and-pencil forms. Methods: Meta-analysis was used to synthesize 65 studies that directly assessed the equivalence of computer versus paper versions of PROs used in clinical trials. A total of 46 unique studies, evaluating 278 scales, provided sufficient detail to allow quantitative analysis. Results: Among 233 direct comparisons, the average mean difference between modes averaged 0.2% of the scale range (e.g., 0.02 points on a 10-point scale), and 93% were within ±5% of the scale range. Among 207 correlation coefficients between paper and computer instruments (typically intraclass correlation coefficients), the average weighted correlation was 0.90; 94% of correlations were at least 0.75. Because the cross-mode correlation (paper vs. computer) is also a test-retest correlation, with potential variation because of retest, we compared it to the within-mode (paper vs. paper) test-retest correlation. In four comparisons that evaluated both, the average cross-mode paper-to-computer correlation was almost identical to the within-mode correlation for readministration of a paper measure (0.88 vs. 0.91). Conclusions: Extensive evidence indicates that paper- and computer-administered PROs are equivalent.

The study examined whether, under comparable testing conditions, second - v and fourth-grade students who took a computer-administered (CA) achievement test in mathematics achieved the same mean score as comparable students who took the same test by paper and pencil (PP). For number correct, the CA standardized mean difference effect size was - 0 .28, which was larger than the expected effect size of zero, although not statistically significant at. 05. It was noted that CA subjects completed the test more quickly, on the average, than PP subjects (CA effect size for time to completion = - 0. 79). When time to completion was statistically controlled, the difference in mean scores between CA and PP modes vanished (CA effect size = - 0.02). Possible explanations for the findings are discussed. It is concluded that, based on these results, one would not be justified in assuming CA and PP scores from elementary school students to be equivalent.

Educational psychologists are expected to offer real-world relevant services. One way to strive towards real-word relevance is for educational psychologists to facilitate resilience by using Ungar’s diagnostic criteria of resilience. However, at this time the usefulness of applying Ungar’s criteria is still unexplored. Thus, this study asked: ‘What insight into the resilience of vulnerable rural adolescents can be achieved by applying Ungar’s diagnostic criteria of resilience to the documents (i.e. paper-and-pencil activities) generated in psycho-educational assessments?’ In answering this question, a qualitative secondary data analysis was conducted of psycho-educational paper-and-pencil activities completed by 65 male and female IsiSwati-speaking Grade 9 learners at a secondary school in Mpumalanga, a remote province in South Africa, during the Flourishing Learning Youth (FLY) study. FLY, a project of the Centre for the Study of Resilience, is based at the University of Pretoria. The a priori categories were sourced from Ungar’s diagnostic criteria and the relevant a priori codes from the review of South African resilience literature. The analysis showed that adolescents were challenged by physical risk, emotional risk and poverty-related risk. Additionally, adolescents were protected by personal resources (agency, self-worth), family resources (role models, supportive parentchild interaction), community resources (role models, community belonging), school resources (teachers as role models and supporters) and macro resources (spirituality). These findings echo extant South African resilience studies and enabled the educational psychologist to ‘diagnose’ resilience for this group of adolescents to better understand the risks to their well-being, the resources that can be leveraged to buffer this risk, and the resources that are absent and must be negotiated. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted

Cette thèse se donne pour ambition la compréhension des mécanismes autoprésentationnels et plus particulièrement ceux liés à l‟expression de la désirabilité sociale en tant que stratégie de présentation de soi, mis en place en fonction du format de passation (i.e. papier/crayon vs. informatisé). Le format de passation informatisé est, en effet, susceptible d‟affecter la manière dont les individus s‟autoprésentent en participant à une perception spécifique du contexte de passation : celui-ci serait perçu comme plus anonymant que le format de passation traditionnel (Kiesler et Sproull, 1986). Alors que la plupart des études ont choisi d‟aborder la question de l‟équivalence des formats de passation traditionnels versus informatisés d‟un point de vue psychométrique, nous tenterons d‟y répondre en interrogeant tant des facteurs dispositionnels tels que l‟attitude envers l‟informatique (expérimentations 1, 2 et 5) que contextuels comme, par exemple, l‟anonymat (expérimentations 3,4 et 5). Deux études se focaliseront sur l‟usage des formats traditionnels et informatisés (expérimentations 5 et 6). Au sein de ce programme de recherche, nous distinguerons également les formats de passation les plus traditionnels (i.e. papier/crayon) des plus récents (i.e. formats offline et online). De manière générale, les résultats valident l‟intérêt d‟une approche psychosociale de l‟équivalence des formats de passation traditionnels versus informatisés. Indépendamment du format de passation auquel les individus sont confrontés (i.e. traditionnel, offline ou online), les stratégies d‟autoprésentation sont influencées par la manière dont les individus perçoivent la situation de passation. / The purpose of this thesis is to understand self-presentation processes and, in particular, the expression of social desirability depending on presentation paper-and-pencil versus computer-based test. Computer-based tests could affect the way respondents express self-presentation because this specific context may be perceived as more impersonal than a paper-and-pencil test (Kiesler et Sproull, 1986). While most studies choose to approach the question of the equivalence of traditional versus computer-based test through a psychometric view, we answer this problematic by questioning dispositional variables such as computer attitude (experimentations 1, 2 and 5) and contextual variables such as anonymity (experimentations 3, 4 and 5). Participants‟ use of these test formats is also studied (experimentations 5 and 6). Within this research program, we distinguish the most traditional (i.e. paper-and-pencil) from the most recent (i.e. offline and online) administration mode. The results validate the interest of a psychosocial approach for the field of equivalence of traditional versus computer-based tests. Regardless of the test version itself (i.e. paper-and-pencil, offline or online), self-presentation strategies depends of individuals‟ perception of the testing context.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a meal supplement fortified with micronutrients would, statistically, significantly improve the intelligence scores of Grade 3 and 4 learners. The data collection procedures in this study took the form of a pre-test – post-test control group design. The Paper and Pencil Games (PPG) Level 3, a standardised psychological test, was administered before and after the respondents were exposed to the meal supplements. For a treatment period of 16 weeks the experimental group received the meal supplement fortified with micronutrients and the control group the meal supplement without any added micronutrients. Data analysis took the form of statistical analysis to determine whether the meal supplements consumed by those in the experimental group could significantly contribute to improving their intelligence scores. The results indicated statistically significant increases in scores, between the pretest and post-test on the various scales of the PPG, of both the experimental and control group on the one hand, but no statistically significant differences between the two treatment groups on the post-test on the other. The null hypothesis that there are no (statistically significant) differences between the average post-test scores (V, NV, and T) of the experimental and control groups could not be rejected. However, the increase between the pre-test and post-test stanine scores of the two treatment groups has led to recommendations for further research. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

There is a worldwide development, better to say a non-development: We teach paper & pencil skills in primary schools almost like we did 30 or 50 or 100 years ago. Till today the primary school teachers spend up to more than 100 hours in the class room to teach and to train old fashioned algorithms though in daily life situations and for business purposes everybody uses a calculator. Why do we waste so much time of our children to teach them things which later on they will not need? We see an emotional dichotomy. Despite the research results from many research projects in many countries there still is the fear that the use of calculators in primary grades will harm mental arithmetic and estimation skills. To explain and to overcome that fear we will reflect the nature of number sense and of paper&pencil skills more carefully. We realize that the development of number sense is an intuitive and unconscious mental process while the ability to get an exact calculation result is trained logically and consciously. To overcome the above dichotomy we must solve the hidden dichotomy number sense versus precise calculation result. We need a new balance. Different types of examples will be given how we can further the development of number sense in a technology dominated curriculum.

There is a worldwide development, better to say a non-development: We teach paper & pencil skills in primary schools almost like we did 30 or 50 or 100 years ago. Till today the primary school teachers spend up to more than 100 hours in the class room to teach and to train old fashioned algorithms though in daily life situations and for business purposes everybody uses a calculator. Why do we waste so much time of our children to teach them things which later on they will not need? We see an emotional dichotomy. Despite the research results from many research projects in many countries there still is the fear that the use of calculators in primary grades will harm mental arithmetic and estimation skills. To explain and to overcome that fear we will reflect the nature of number sense and of paper&pencil skills more carefully. We realize that the development of number sense is an intuitive and unconscious mental process while the ability to get an exact calculation result is trained logically and consciously. To overcome the above dichotomy we must solve the hidden dichotomy number sense versus precise calculation result. We need a new balance. Different types of examples will be given how we can further the development of number sense in a technology dominated curriculum.