ECT Brownbag: David F. Feldon
Using mixed methods in measurement: New psychometric tools to advance critical quantitative research
When: Thursday, March 14, 2024, 12:00 pm– 1:00 pm EST
370 Jay St, Room 522
Presenting work from his forthcoming book, Mixed methods for psychological measurement: Using critical realism to reframe incommensurability, Dr. David Feldon offers a new perspective on measurement formation and validation that integrates both qualitative (idiographic) and quantitative (nomothetic) perspectives and data. Through a lens of critical realism, which recognizes idiographic and nomothetic facets of human phenomena as equivalently “real,” the modeling approaches presented honor and integrate both into measurement. In doing so, they provide new tools for conducting critical quantitative inquiry by infusing quantitative models with perspectives arising from differing contexts, life experiences, sensemaking, and positionalities. By reflecting these humanistic elements of experience as necessary and intrinsic to robust measurement, the resulting metrics do not erase the worldviews of individuals from marginalized backgrounds from quantified forms of data.
David F. Feldon
David F. Feldon is a professor of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences in the College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University. His scholarship identifies mechanisms of learning and postsecondary education that facilitate the equitable development of expertise – specifically in STEM disciplines. His research attempts to build bridges from a deep understanding of motivation and cognition to broader cultural and structural influences that shape divergent pathways to expertise and professional success. Dr. Feldon was the 2019 recipient of the American Educational Research Association’s Division D Award for Significant Contributions to Educational Measurement and Research.