Biomedical subjects

J A Spray

Publications and source records attributed to J A Spray.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

Revising the blueprint for the AOCN Examination using a role delineation study for advanced practice oncology nursing.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To conduct a role delineation study of advanced oncology nursing practice as a basis for the blueprint for the Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse (AOCN) Examination. DESIGN: Descriptive and comparative. SAMPLE: A group of 802 Oncology Nursing Society members comprised of 258 oncology nurse practitioners (NPs), 235 oncology clinical nurse specialists (CNSs), and 309 baccalaureate-prepared oncology nurses. METHODS: A pilot survey was mailed to a small group to allow refinement of the survey instrument. The survey then was mailed to a total sample of 2,400. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Frequency and importance to practice of 121 survey items as well as whether each item reflected an entry-level skill. Survey items were divided into five major domains: (a) Direct Caregiver, (b) Consultant, (c) Administrator/Coordinator, (d) Researcher and (e) Educator. FINDINGS: Direct Caregiver domain was weighted most heavily (63%), followed by Educator (18%), Consultant (10%), Administrator/Coordinator (5%), and Researcher (4%). Most of the items were identified as entry-level skills, and fewer than 10% of the items differentiated between CNS and NP respondents. CONCLUSION: The blueprint for the AOCN Examination reflects entry-level advanced practice oncology nursing and is appropriate for both CNSs and NPs in oncology. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Examinees, consumers, and employers can have confidence that the AOCN Examination will be based on a blueprint that was revised to reflect current oncology nursing practice and, therefore, is valid for its purpose.

Adult↗

PubMed1996

The task difficulty of free throw shooting for males and females.

The study demonstrated how the binomial trials model could be used to enhance performance evaluation of a psychomotor task. The study was designed to accomplish three purposes: (a) calibrate the task difficulty of shooting free throws; (b) determine if free-throw shooting is a more difficult task for females than males; and (c) demonstrate how grading scales could be developed when a difference in task difficulty exists. Adults (202 males and 196 females) ranging in age from 18 to 55 years shot 17 consecutive free throws. The performance scores were analyzed using the binomial trials model. The model fit the data for the total group and the females. Because no males scored 0 or more than 13, the model did not fit the data at the extremes of the score continuum. The task difficulty for females was 0.793 (SE = 0.084) and 0.068 (SE = 0.081) for males, which indicated differential item functioning, Chi 1(2) = 38.73, p < .0001. Shooting free throws with a men's regulation basketball was a more difficult task for females than males, which indicates the task does not measure the same latent trait ability for both groups. On average the males' probability of making a free throw was .146 units higher than for the females. Ability estimates were mapped to observed scores for males and females separately and used to illustrate how fair grading scales could be developed.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Effects of violating local independence on IRT parameter estimation for the Binomial Trials Model.

The appropriateness of the Binomial Trials Model for test data that consist of multiple attempts of the same item needs to be determined because the presence of learning or fatigue effects may violate the model's assumption of local independence. The purpose of this study was to determine what effect the severity of the violation of local independence (VLI), coupled with different sample size (SS), test length (TL), and test difficulty (TD) had on the estimation of the model difficulty parameter, b, using computer simulation techniques. Each of the following conditions was replicated 100 times under a completely crossed design: SS (100, 200, 500, 2,000); TL (5, 10, 20, 25 attempts); TD (-1.2, 0.0, 1.2); and VLI (from no violation to complete violation). Examinee ability or latent trait was pseudorandomly drawn from a standard normal distribution, and the b-parameter was estimated using a maximum likelihood procedure on generated test scores. Regardless of SS, TL, and TD, the b-parameter tended to be overestimated for situations in which the VLI condition simulated fatigue and underestimated when the VLI condition simulated late-test learning or practice effect. The findings suggest that violations of local independence, at least as simulated in this study, could seriously bias the difficulty parameter estimates if all examinees tested exhibited the dependency.

Bias↗

PubMed1991

Time series analysis of knowledge of results effects during motor skill acquisition.

Time series analysis was used to investigate the hypothesis that during acquisition of a motor skill, knowledge of results (KR) information is used to generate a stable internal referent about which response errors are randomly distributed. Sixteen subjects completed 50 acquisition trials of each of three movements whose spatial-temporal characteristics differed. Acquisition trials were either blocked, with each movement being presented in series, or randomized, with the presentation of movements occurring in random order. Analysis of movement time data indicated the contextual interference effect reported in previous studies was replicated in the present experiment. Time series analysis of the acquisition trial data revealed the majority of individual subject response patterns during blocked trials were best described by a model with a temporarily stationary, internal reference of the criterion and systematic, trial-to-trial variation of response errors. During random trial conditions, response patterns were usually best described by a "White-noise" model. This model predicts a permanently stationary, internal reference associated with randomly distributed response errors that are unaffected by KR information. These results are not consistent with previous work using time series analysis to describe motor behavior (Spray & Newell, 1986).

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

One-parameter item response theory models for psychomotor tests involving repeated, independent attempts.

Three one-parameter item response theory models are given as viable models that describe the observed score probabilities of an examinee who takes a multiple attempts, single-item test of a psychomotor skill. These models include the Binomial Trials Model, the Poisson Counts Model, and the Inverse Binomial Model. The paper presents these models and offers suggestions for their estimation and subsequent use in the assessment of psychomotor behavior.

Bayes Theorem↗

PubMed1986

Absolute error revisited: an accuracy indicator in disguise.

When target accuracy is defined as the probability that an individual will respond to an accuracy task within a fixed distance around the target, then the composite error measures, E and AE, are shown to be fairly strong indicators of target accuracy in a relative sense. When AE and E are compared, AE is shown to be an even stronger accuracy indicator than E for most reasonable accuracy requirements. This, plus the fact that AE has certain desirable properties in ANOVA procedures, suggests that AE is a good, composite measure of target accuracy and should be analyzed first to determine if target accuracy differences exist. Subsequent analyses of bias and/or variability are then recommended.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1980

Methodological issues in short-term motor memory research.

Four methodological issues identified and studied by short-term motor memory researchers were examined in this paper: (a) the distributions of three commonly used measures of error (AE, CE, and VE); (b) statistical analysis of these scores as dependent measures in an experiment; (c) within-cell and experiment-wise estimates of the reliability of CE; and (d) the power of the statistical test with CE as the dependent measure. The first two sub-problems were explored theoretically, while the latter two were subjected to empirical examination using four data sets from previously published experiments. The distributions of AE and VE scores were described as non-normal under certain conditions, while the CE score distribution was shown to be normal. Therefore analyses of these three dependent measures may require different statistical procedures. In light of this information, the assumptions affecting estimates of reliability and power in an experimental framework were examined. Based on an analysis of the four data sets, a strategy was proposed in which a relatively small number of subjects could be utilized in an experiment without sacrificing desired experimental controls.

Journal Article↗