Psychological Testing Using the Web vs. Paper-And-Pencil

People are now taking traditional personality tests §via the Internet, but are the results the same? The §current study is one of the few investigations that §has addressed this question directly. This §particular study has used experimental methods to §test this question, which sets it apart from most §research on Web-based psychological testing. §Another unique feature of this study is its approach §to testing both media forms (Web and Paper) over a §variety of well-established psychological §instruments, and comparing both media forms of each §instrument side by side, to see if the Web versions §of these psychological measures are equivalent to §the traditional paper-and-pencil versions of these §instruments. This approach increases the §reliability and validity of the results. Evidence §from the study suggested an equivalence of validity §coefficients and it was concluded that the two media §types were generally equivalent. People are now taking traditional personality tests §via the Internet, but are the results the same? The §current study is one of the few investigations that §has addressed this question directly. This §particular study has used experimental methods to §test this question, which sets it apart from most §research on Web-based psychological testing. §Another unique feature of this study is its approach §to testing both media forms (Web and Paper) over a§variety of well-established psychological §instruments, and comparing both media forms of each §instrument side by side, to see if the Web versions §of these psychological measures are equivalent to §the traditional paper-and-pencil versions of these §instruments. This approach increases the §reliability and validity of the results. Evidence §from the study suggested an equivalence of validity §coefficients and it was concluded that the two media §types were generally equivalent.