FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

We have learned of a few issues affecting use of the MCCB™ Computer Scoring Program:

1. Login: The initial version of the MCCB™ scoring program was not password protected and did not require a username and password to gain access. However, the most recent version of the program is password protected and requires a username and password. After installing the program, double-click the MCCB™ icon on your desktop and click OK on the initial screen. You will be prompted for your username and password. The default settings are Username = user and Password = password. These default settings are intended for initial access only. To protect the program from unwanted access, we strongly recommend that you change these settings immediately after logging in. You can change the default settings by selecting Users on the main menu. On the User Administration screen, click the box to the left of the user listing created in your initial logon and then click Update. On the Update User screen, enter your first and last names and a new password. .

2. Calculation of age:  For the initial version of the MCCB™ computer scoring program, we identified a minor error in the calculation of age from the respondent’s birth date.  Under certain circumstances, the calculated age may be off by one year.  If this is the version you are working with, you can bypass this problem by entering the respondent’s age in years directly on the Respondent Registry screen and leave the field for birth date blank.  This issue has been corrected in the later versions of the MCCB™ scoring program that are available by contacting the test distributor who provided the initial program.

3. Date formatting:  Date formatting varies from country to country.  The initial version of the MCCB™ computer scoring program required users to enter dates according to the U.S. format (mm/dd/yyyy); but in other countries, dates frequently are formatted another way (dd/mm/yyyy).  Later versions of the MCCB™ scoring program have corrected this problem by providing drop-down calendars for entry of dates.  The later versions of the MCCB™ scoring program are available by contacting the test distributor who provided the initial program.

4. Input of raw scores from data files:  The scoring program now includes an IMPORT function option to input data files in a specified format to obtain T-scores for groups of subjects.  The computer should be set to English (US) and decimal points should be used for numeric data in place of commas.  Sample files are available here: Pre-formatted Patient Registry and Pre-formatted Raw Data.

5. Windows compatibility:  The computer-based programs in the initial version of the MCCB™ do not install properly under Microsoft operating systems developed after Windows XP.  Subsequent versions have been modified to allow installation with Windows Vista through Windows 10 operating systems.

6. Computer program delivery options: The four computer-based programs of the MCCB™ can be installed from the two CDs included in the MCCB test kit or downloaded and installed from our Digital Download Portal using the serial code included in the MCCB™ test kit. CD and Download installation instructions are available here.

To download the programs, complete the required data fields on the download site at https://download.matricsinc.org and click Register. Each serial code can be redeemed five times (i.e., five copies of the computer programs can be downloaded). For each download, the email address and password used to register and complete the initial download must be used. If you forget the initial password or need to change it, click the Forgot link. Be sure to extract all files included in the download before installing the programs.

7. International MSCEIT Branch 4 Scoring program:  A careful review of the distribution of responses was conducted for each item (“action”) in Branch 4 of the MSCEIT using normative data from China, India (Hindi), Japan, Latin America, Russia, and Spain.  Based on this analysis of item responses in international norms from MSCEIT Branch 4, six items were omitted from the international scoring system because the pattern of responses was not consistent across countries.  These items are still administered so that administration is consistent, but they are not used to compute the scores within the International MSCEIT Branch 4 Scoring program.

8. Scoring and Handling of Missing Data on the MCCB™:  In Appendix B of the MCCB™ Manual, we provide recommendations for how to handle missing data involving the MCCB™. Appendix B is available here: Appendix B: Imputation Procedures for Missing Data in Clinical Research.

9. Alternative Composite Score: A change in the MCCB™ scoring system reflects the growing awareness that non-social cognition and social cognition are separable dimensions. It is possible that a treatment will affect social cognition and non-social cognition differently, and that is assumed for specific interventions, such as oxytocin, focused on one area or the other. To allow trialists to examine non-social cognition only, the MCCB™ scoring program now provides an option for a Neurocognitive Composite that does not include social cognition. A limitation of the MCCB™ is that it does not have an option for a social cognition composite, because there is only one test in that domain. This additional composite has been approved by the MATRICS™ Neurocognition Committee.