Synthesizing the literature from the survey and measurement fields, this book explains how to develop closed-response survey scales that will accurately capture such constructs as attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors. It provides guidelines to help applied researchers or graduate students review existing scales for possible adoption or adaptation in a study; create their own conceptual framework for a scale; write checklists, true-false variations, and Likert-style items; design response scales; examine validity and reliability; conduct a factor analysis; and document the instrument development and its technical quality. Advice is given on constructing tables and graphs to report survey scale results. Concepts and procedures are illustrated with "Not This/But This" examples from multiple disciplines. User-Friendly Features *End-of-chapter exercises with sample solutions, plus annotated suggestions for further reading. *"Not This/But This" examples of poorly written and strong survey items. *Chapter-opening overviews and within-chapter summaries. *Glossary of key concepts. *Appendix with examples of parametric and nonparametric procedures for group comparisons.
1. Scales in Surveys Introduction An Overview of the Survey Scale Development Process Attitudes, Knowledge, and Behaviors Key Qualities of a Survey Scale: Reliability and Validity Further Reading Chapter Exercises 2. Adopting or Adapting an Existing Scale Introduction Reviewing Potential Instruments for Adoption or Adaptation The Mental Measurements Yearbook: A Source for Reviews of Instruments Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement Further Reading Chapter Exercises 3. Establishing a Framework for the Development of a Survey Scale Introduction Elements and Format Functions of the Conceptual Framework in the Development of a Survey Scale Construction of a Conceptual Framework Further Reading Chapter Exercises 4. Item-Writing Guidelines Introduction Addressing Relevance Addressing Audience Addressing Language Addressing Item Structure Addressing Conventions Guidelines Specific to Item Type Number of Items Further Reading Chapter Exercises 5. Development of Response Scales Introduction Length of the Item Response Scale Numeric and Verbal Response Labels The Questionable Middle Position Further Reading Chapter Exercises 6. Formatting and Reviewing Introduction Survey Format and Administration Method Item Formats Specific to Administration Methods Complete Reviews and a Pilot of the Survey Scale Further Reading Chapter Exercises 7. Analysis of Survey Scale Data Introduction Levels of Measurement Frequencies Measures of Central Tendency Measures of Variability Measures of Association Obtaining Descriptive Statistics Further Reading Chapter Exercises 8. Investigating Scale Quality Introduction Field Testing Response Distributions: Item Quality Investigating Reliability Investigating Validity Further Reading Chapter Exercises 9. Factor Analysis Introduction General Purposes and Processes Associated with Factor-Analytic Procedures Testing Assumptions Dimensionality Extraction: Principal Axis Factoring Determining the Number of Factors (Model Selection) Rotation How to Interpret Factor Solutions Calculating Factor Scores Sample Size Steps after EFA How to Obtain an EFA Model Further Reading Chapter Exercises 10. Documenting the Development of the Survey Scale Introduction Determining the Need for a Data Display Developing Tables Table Structure Table Data Developing Graphs Structure of a Graph Organization of Data in a Graph Narrative about Table or Graph Concluding Thoughts Further Reading Chapter Exercises Appendix. Analysis of Data: Inferential Statistics Introduction Sampling Inferential Statistics Inferential Procedures Nonparametric Inferential Statistics Further Reading Appendix Exercises Sample Solutions to Chapter Exercises Glossary of Key Terms References Author Index Subject Index About the Authors
