Investigating the Role of Test Methods in Testing Reading Comprehension

Part OneChapter One Introduction1.1 Research Background1.2 Research Focus1.3 Book Structure1.4 SummaryChapter Two Theories of Reading Comprehension2.1 Nature of Reading Comprehension2.1.1 Psycholinguistic Perspective of Reading Comprehension2.1.2 Cognitive Perspective of Reading Comprehension2.1.3 Processing Patterns of Reading Comprehension2.1.3.1 Bottom-up Processing2.1.3.2 Top-down Processing2.1.3.3 Interactive Processing2.2 Factors Involved in Reading Comprehension2.2.1 Reader2.2.2 Text2.2.3 Interaction2.2.3.1 Purpose of Reading Comprehension2.2.3.2 Skills2.2.3.3 Strategies and Metacognitive Strategies2.3 Khalifa and Weir' Model of Reading Comprehension2.4 SummaryChapter Three Construct and Validity3.1 Construct3.1.1 A Trait Theorist View3.1.2 A Behaviourist View3.1.3 An Interactionalist View3.2 Validity3.3 Validation3.3.1 Messick's Validation Framework3.3.2 Kane's Interpretive Argument Framework3.3.3 Bachman and Palmer's AUA Framework3.3.4 Campbell and Fiske's MTMM Approach 3.4 A Process-focused Construct Validation Framework3.5 SummaryChapter Four Test Method and Response Format4.1 Test Method4.2 Response Format4.2.1 Response Formats Most Commonly Used in Reading Comprehension Tests4.2.1.1 MCQ Format4.2.1.2 SAQ Format4.2.2 Response Format Effect(s) on Test takers' Reading Comprehension Per-formances4.3 SummaryChapter Five Methodology5.1 Quantitative Approach5.2 Qualitative Approach5.3 Mixed Methods Approach5.4 A Qualitative Dominant Mixed Methods Approach5.5 Summary Part TwoChapter Six Quantitative Strand6.1 Research Design6.1.1 Research Procedures6.1.2 Participants6.1.3 Research Instruments6.2 Findings6.2.1 Descriptive Statistics6.2.1.1 Item Statistics6.2.1.2 Passage Statistics6.2.1.3 Total Score Statistics6.2.2 Inferential Statistics6.2.2.1 Paired-sample T-test6.2.2.2 MTMM CFA6.2.3 Summary of Findings 6.3 SummaryChapter Seven Employing Think Aloud Protocols (TAPs) to Explore Test takers' Cognitive Processes7.1 TAPs Paradigm7.1.1 Rationale and Concerns of

Dr. Jufang Kong is a lecturer and Dean of the Teaching Research section of the College of Foreign Languages at Zhejiang Normal University, China. She holds a PhD in Language Testing and Assessment from Shanghai International Studies University and was a visiting student at the School of Education, University of Leicester, during her PhD studies. Her research interests include assessing reading skills, language test validation and assessing young language learners. In 2017, she received approval for the Ministry of Education Humanities and Social Sciences Project.