CRITERION DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDITY OF THE CQT IN-FIELD APPLICATION

A field study of the control question test (CQT) for the detection of deception was conducted. Data from the files of 41 criminal cases were examined for confirming information and were rated by two evaluators on the strength of the confirming information. Those ratings were foun d robe highly reliable, r = .94. Thirty-two of the cases were found to have some independent confirmation. Numerical scores and decisions fr om the original examiners and an independent evaluation were analyzed. The results indicated that the CQT was a highly valid discriminator. Excluding inconclusives, the decisions of the original examiners were correct 96% of the time, and the independent evaluations were 93% corr ect. These results suggest that criteria other than confession can be developed and used reliably. In addition, the validity of the CQT in r eal-world settings was supported.