Scientific Foundations of Clinical Assessment: (Foundations of Clinical Science and Practice)

Scientific Foundations of Clinical Assessment is a user-friendly overview of the most important principles and concepts of clinical assessment. It provides readers with a science-based framework for interpreting assessment research and making good assessment decisions, such as selecting the best instruments and measures and interpreting the obtained assessment data. Written in a direct and highly readable fashion, with plenty of clinical examples that illustrate the relevance of psychometric principles and assessment research, this text is one every professional and graduate student needs to read. Numerous elements are used consistently throughout the book to facilitate understanding and retention, such as: * Text boxes that provide extended presentations of the application of principles and research; * End-of-chapter summaries that review key issues covered, and; * Additional recommended sources for each chapter. A detailed glossary that defines key measurement and assessment concepts is also included, making this book an invaluable reference and supplementary text for anyone who does clinical assessment in the health and mental health domains.

Table of Contents:
Preface. Introduction to the Scientific Foundations of Clinical Assessment. Reliability. Validity. Applying Psychometric Evidence to Clinical Decisions. Clinical Utility and Decision-making. Understanding Patterns Among Measures Through Factor Analysis. The Conditional Nature of Psychometric Evidence. How to Evaluate Commonly Used Statistical Methods in Clinical Assessment Research. Using Multiple Sources of Data in Clinical Assessment.

About the Author :
Stephen N. Haynes, PhD, is a professor in the department of psychology at the University of Hawaii. Gregory T. Smith, PhD, is a Professor of Psychology and Director of Clinical Training at the University of Kentucky. John Hunsley, PhD, is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Clinical Psychology Program at the University of Ottawa in Ontario, Canada.

Review :
"No other book explains so well the value of using a unified framework based on clinical assessment, systematic measurement, and clinical science to guide health and mental health decision-making and practice--and the dangers of not doing so. The best and most authoritative book on this topic by far." - Eric J. Mash, PhD, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada "The field of clinical psychology has long awaited a new, authoritative text on clinical assessment. This book should quickly become the definitive reference for graduate courses in clinical and personality assessment. It is supremely rich in valuable insight, instruction, and guidance for the student, clinician, and researcher." - Thomas A. Widiger, 2009 recipient of the Distinguished Scientist Award by the Society for the Science of Clinical Psychology "This book is sorely needed. The authors provide guidelines for evaluating the psychometric properties of tests and measures, discuss maximizing clinical decision making and utility, and instruct the reader on how to evaluate statistical methods in clinical assessment research. This is a book I will use the next time I teach a class in psychological measurement and psychometrics." - Tim Trull, PhD, Professor of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, USA