Toward More Clinically Relevant Assessment Research

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to encourage the design and conduct of more clinically relevant assessment research. The discussion focuses on the distinction between research design elements that are appropriate to the examination of validity versus utility issues in assessment. This was addressed in 2 ways. The first part of the article summarizes the results of an informal methodological review of 108 empirically based articles published in 3 major assessment journals (Assessment, Journal of Personality Assessment, & Psychological Assessment) during the period of September 1998 through August 1999. The results indicated that studies published in these journals demonstrated appropriate sensitivity to some aspects of utility but not others. For example, none of the articles addressed the process of interpretation in clinical settings or the reactions of stakeholders to assessment. Recommendations for enhancing the integration of validity and utility issues in the design of research are discussed. These include methodological issues and topics in need of further study. A particularly important example of the latter is the need for research identifying factors that foster positive impressions of psychological assessment.