Scale Development (Applied Social Research Methods)

mind-and-cognition

• Making sense of observations frequently requires that we quantify them; the boundaries between measurement and broader scientific questions are often imperceptible.

  VLA-C9BE42A0-RC-008

• Measuring elusive, intangible phenomena derived from multiple, evolving theories poses a clear challenge to social science researchers.

  VLA-C9BE42A0-RC-017

education-and-formation

• The higher the correlations among items, the more reliable the scale they compose will be, assuming they share a common latent variable.

  VLA-C9BE42A0-RC-136

• Avoiding complexities and precluding the need for advanced tools may be even better, assuming it does justice to the construct.

  VLA-C9BE42A0-RC-036

self-and-identity

• Focus groups reveal the natural, everyday language people use to talk about a concept, anchoring items in lived experience rather than expert abstraction.

  VLA-C9BE42A0-RC-278

• Items can be designed to target the latent variable of interest with considerable precision and to meet assumptions that simplify the development and validation process.

  VLA-C9BE42A0-RC-283