Before researchers use a psychological questionnaire, they need evidence that it measures the intended construct accurately and consistently. In the PREPARE Lab, we evaluate existing measures of constructs, such as gratitude and mindfulness, to determine whether they perform well with diverse CSU student populations.

A questinnaire that works well in one population may not work the same way in another. Our research examines whether commonly used psychological measures remain reliabel and valid for students from different cultural, ethnic, and educational backgrounds across the CSU system.

Every psychological study depends on the quality of its measurements. By improving the tools researchers use to measure psychological constructs, psychometric research strengthens future reserach into the field, through accuracy, fariness and reproducibility.