Using a multi-level tailored design process to develop a customer satisfaction survey for university evaluation

A multi-level procedure is described in order to develop a total quality management survey tool in the field of engineering academia. As a first step a review of available evaluation tools for universities is conducted, resulting in over 150 items used for evaluation purposes. Secondly all dimensions of educational evaluation used in previous research are summarized, resulting in 15 dimensions. In a third step, items are assigned to the dimensions, overlapping items were combined or removed, and item content and dimensions were adjusted to the specific conditions of the target faculty. Fourthly, the resulting twelve dimensions were used in first, investigative interviews in the target population. Results indicate that eleven dimensions sufficiently mapped all aspects of evaluation. After revising the items to improve understanding in a fifth step cognitive pretests were conducted. The final revision resulted in 83 items assigned to eleven dimensions

Personality Styles of German-Speaking Psychotherapists Differ from a Norm, and Male Psychotherapists Differ from Their Female Colleagues

Variables pertaining to the person of the psychotherapist have been neglected in psychotherapy research for some time. Concerning personality in particular, however, research has mostly focused on its relation with the psychotherapist's choice of method, or differences between the various major therapy approaches. That is, psychotherapists were compared to each other without specifying how exactly psychotherapists are in comparison to "ordinary people." We wanted to know: Are there specific personality styles that distinguish psychotherapists from the norm? A sample of 1,027 psychotherapists from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland filled out the short version of the Personality Style and Disorder Inventory (PSDI-S) via online survey. The PSDI-S is a self-report questionnaire that assesses 14 personality styles, partly related to the non-pathological equivalents of classifiable personality disorders. The psychotherapists were compared to a normative sample of 3,392 people of different professions. The results could be divided into three groups: (1) Large differences in four personality styles that might contribute to relationship skills and may enable psychotherapists to put their own personal opinion aside, show empathy and appreciation, open themselves to the emotional experience of the patient, and provide a trusting relationship. (2) Moderate differences in seven personality styles that are equally indicative of the professional social skills of the psychotherapists, i.e., they were neither submissive nor passive, not excessively helpful, but also not too self-assertive. (3) Hardly any or no differences regarding a charming (histrionic) style, optimism, and conscientiousness. Gender-specific results revealed that male psychotherapists differed from their female colleagues, but they did so differently than men and women in the normative sample do. The main limitations were that we relied on self-report and did not statistically control for gender, age, and education, when comparing to the norm. As a conclusion, German-speaking psychotherapists show personality styles that we interpret as functional for psychotherapeutic practice but this needs corroboration from studies that use different methods and measures

Wir bitten um ein differenziertes Urteil: Möglichkeiten zur Reduktion von Nondifferentiation bei Rating-Skalen

Nondifferentiation ist ein generelles Phänomen bei der Einschätzung von Meinungsgegenständen mittels Rating-Skalen: Zwischen den Meinungsgegenständen wird nicht so deutlich unterschieden, wie aufgrund der Skalen möglich. In zwei experimentellen Studien zu unterschiedlichen Meinungsgegenständen werden in der Literatur diskutierte Verfahren zur Reduzierung der Nondifferentiation zusammen mit einem hierfür bisher nicht verwendeten Verfahren (konstante Summe, KS) hinsichtlich ihres Einflusses auf Nondifferentiation verglichen. Eine erste Studie (N = 139) belegt eine signifikant erhöhte Differenzierung bei KS im Vergleich zu einem verbalen Einschub. Für eine zweite Studie werden in einer Voruntersuchung (N = 138) stark positiv und stark negativ eingeschätzte Meinungsgegenstände ausgewählt, die in der anschließenden Hauptuntersuchung (N = 200) ohne Messwiederholung bewertet werden. Hierbei werden insgesamt 3 verschiedene Verfahren zur Verbesserung der Differenzierung verwendet und einem rein verbalen Einschub gegenübergestellt. Auch hierbei erweist sich die KS generell als das Verfahren, das die höchste Differenzierung bewirkt

Wir bitten um ein differenziertes Urteil: Möglichkeiten zur Reduktion von Nondifferentiation bei Rating-Skalen

Nondifferentiation ist ein generelles Phänomen bei der Einschätzung von Meinungsgegenständen mittels Rating-Skalen: Zwischen den Meinungsgegenständen wird nicht so deutlich unterschieden, wie aufgrund der Skalen möglich. In zwei experimentellen Studien zu unterschiedlichen Meinungsgegenständen werden in der Literatur diskutierte Verfahren zur Reduzierung der Nondifferentiation zusammen mit einem hierfür bisher nicht verwendeten Verfahren (konstante Summe, KS) hinsichtlich ihres Einflusses auf Nondifferentiation verglichen. Eine erste Studie (N = 139) belegt eine signifikant erhöhte Differenzierung bei KS im Vergleich zu einem verbalen Einschub. Für eine zweite Studie werden in einer Voruntersuchung (N = 138) stark positiv und stark negativ eingeschätzte Meinungsgegenstände ausgewählt, die in der anschließenden Hauptuntersuchung (N = 200) ohne Messwiederholung bewertet werden. Hierbei werden insgesamt 3 verschiedene Verfahren zur Verbesserung der Differenzierung verwendet und einem rein verbalen Einschub gegenübergestellt. Auch hierbei erweist sich die KS generell als das Verfahren, das die höchste Differenzierung bewirkt

Personality Styles of German-Speaking Psychotherapists Differ from a Norm, and Male Psychotherapists Differ from Their Female Colleagues

Variables pertaining to the person of the psychotherapist have been neglected in psychotherapy research for some time. Concerning personality in particular, however, research has mostly focused on its relation with the psychotherapist’s choice of method, or differences between the various major therapy approaches. That is, psychotherapists were compared to each other without specifying how exactly psychotherapists are in comparison to “ordinary people.” We wanted to know: Are there specific personality styles that distinguish psychotherapists from the norm? A sample of 1,027 psychotherapists from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland filled out the short version of the Personality Style and Disorder Inventory (PSDI-S) via online survey. The PSDI-S is a self-report questionnaire that assesses 14 personality styles, partly related to the non-pathological equivalents of classifiable personality disorders. The psychotherapists were compared to a normative sample of 3,392 people of different professions. The results could be divided into three groups: (1) Large differences in four personality styles that might contribute to relationship skills and may enable psychotherapists to put their own personal opinion aside, show empathy and appreciation, open themselves to the emotional experience of the patient, and provide a trusting relationship. (2) Moderate differences in seven personality styles that are equally indicative of the professional social skills of the psychotherapists, i.e., they were neither submissive nor passive, not excessively helpful, but also not too self-assertive. (3) Hardly any or no differences regarding a charming (histrionic) style, optimism, and conscientiousness. Gender-specific results revealed that male psychotherapists differed from their female colleagues, but they did so differently than men and women in the normative sample do. The main limitations were that we relied on self-report and did not statistically control for gender, age, and education, when comparing to the norm. As a conclusion, German-speaking psychotherapists show personality styles that we interpret as functional for psychotherapeutic practice but this needs corroboration from studies that use different methods and measures