Phonological Assessment Instrument: evidence of content validity and response processes

Area of Science:

• Speech-Language Pathology
• Child Development
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Phonological assessment is crucial for identifying speech sound disorders in children.
• Developing valid and reliable assessment tools is essential for accurate diagnosis and intervention planning.
• Existing instruments may require refinement to ensure content relevance and ease of use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the content validity of a novel phonological assessment instrument for children.
• To validate the response processes associated with the instrument's administration and scoring.
• To ensure the instrument's suitability for assessing phonological skills in pediatric populations.

Main Methods:

• A two-stage validation process involving expert and non-specialist judges.
• Expert judges (n=3) evaluated 123 lexical items for applicability and suggested content adjustments.
• Non-specialist judges assessed item elicitation ease during instrument application.

Main Results:

• The instrument demonstrated positive results for content validity.
• The response processes were also validated, indicating successful data collection.
• The study confirmed the instrument's suitability for its intended purpose.

Conclusions:

• The validation process led to judicious improvements in the test items.
• The refined instrument is beneficial for both clinical practice and scientific research.
• This study contributes to the development of robust tools for phonological assessment in children.