| Scale Development: Theory and Applications Second Edition (Applied Social Research Methods) | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert F. Devellis
Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc
Category: Book
List Price: $38.95
Buy New: $27.55
You Save: $11.40 (29%)
Buy New/Used from $27.55
Avg. Customer Rating:   (7 reviews)
Sales Rank: 11248
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2nd
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 176
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5
ISBN: 0761926054
Dewey Decimal Number: 300.72
EAN: 9780761926054
ASIN: 0761926054
Publication Date: March 25, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
A best-seller in its first edition, Scale Development: Theory and Applications, Second Edition has been extensively updated and revised to address changes in the field and topics that have grown in importance since the first edition. Widely adopted for graduate courses in departments such as Psychology, Public Health, Marketing, Nursing, and Education, this book will prove beneficial to applied researchers across the social sciences. New to the Second Edition: - Figures and practical tips for students
- New section on face validity (Chapter 4)
- Substantially expanded presentation of factor analysis (Chapter 6)
- New chapter (7) on item response theory (IRT)
- Coverage of qualitative procedures and issues related to differential item functioning (Chapter 8)
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Solid Help for First-Time Scale Developers October 9, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
My colleague Doug recently completed a research study on the level of engagement in the Federal workforce. He used data from a 2005 governmentwide survey of nearly 37,000 Federal employees. Although Doug has a solid background in Federal employment issues like employee engagement, this was the first time he used a group of survey questions to create and analyze a measurement scale. This book is one of the resources Doug used to make his project a success.
Robert DeVellis's book covers the fundamentals of social science scale development in a straightforward manner. This book explains basic measurement concepts clearly and contains sufficient practical guidance to support construction of a working scale. The reader will need to obtain access to a statistical program and instruction in its use from another source.
Chapter 1 briefly reviews the history of social science measurement, including the role played by statistics and psychophysics. A discussion of the relationship between theory and measurement includes the risks of careless measurement practice. It ends on page 13 with a useful one-paragraph preview of the remaining seven chapters. Chapter 2 defines the relationship between constructs and the measures that allow us to observe them. It introduces path diagrams and outlines the assumptions of classical measurement theory. Chapter 3 defines measurement reliability and introduces coefficient alpha as a measure of the internal consistency of a scale. More advanced reliability topics are outlined with some reference to formulas and covariance matrices.
The next two chapters are the book's core. Chapter 4 defines content, criterion-related, construct and face validity and distinguishes between validity and accuracy. The discussion of validity coefficients and multi-method multi-trait approaches to studying validity equip the reader to understand validity studies in the measurement literature. Chapter 5 lays out an eight-step process for developing a scale of questions to measure some construct of the reader's choice. These steps are (slightly reworded):
- 1. Define clearly what you want to measure.
- 2. Create a set of draft questions.
- 3. Select a common format and set of answer options for the questions.
- 4. Have experts review and revise the questions.
- 5. Consider using "social desirability" or similar questions.
- 6. Field test the questions with "real people."
- 7. Analyze the results of your field test.
- 8. Decide how many questions--and which questions--to keep.
The real value in this book is the practical guidance given for each of these steps. There is enough here to get you through your first project, but not so much that it overwhelms.
Chapter 6 introduces factor analysis as a statistical procedure that helps scale developers understand how their scale works, particularly if there are two or three different things that the scale is measuring. The author does an excellent job explaining the concepts of factor analysis, how to select the right kind of analysis, and how to interpret the results without becoming mired in unnecessary technical detail. Chapter 7 is a similarly elegant treatment of item response theory. The reader is convinced that scale items each have a certain difficulty for test takers and a certain ability to discriminate between groups of test takers. The chapter explains these and related concepts sufficiently to illustrate their usefulness, leaving interested readers to learn more in one of the cited references. The final chapter encourages readers to take a broad, contextual view of measurement and sends them on their way to develop their scales.
Other sources are a better choice if you need a deeply technical reference about measurement (Psychometric Theory), factor analysis (Latent Variable Models and Factor Analysis), or item response theory (Item Response Theory for Psychologists). If you are developing your first scale--like Doug--or if you are often asked "How do I make a scale to measure this?" then you want this book close at hand.
 Practical introduction to measurement issues November 24, 2006
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is a beautifully written account of measurement issues in the social sciences. It is a great resource for anyone who is interested in developing their own instrument or who would like to learn more about measurement theory.
clear but a little simplistic March 16, 2006
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
This is a nice resource for researchers completely unfamiliar with the process of measure development. The biggest limitation of the book is that it falls short in actually presenting equations for the statistics mentioned. Thus, it is a good place to start if you have little exposure to this process. However, if you plan on actually running a series of studies to create a new measure, then you'll want to augment this book with some real statistics books.
Scale Development : Theory and Applications (Applied Social Research Methods) October 3, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book was very helpful, although it does get a bit technical when it comes to the statistical explanations. For non-statisticians, it might be a bit difficult to understand. However, overall it is a good resource to have when designing a health survey.
Very helpful resource August 24, 2005
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This short volume is an excellent overview of how to create scales and indexes from survey items. The author assumes familiarity with the concepts behind reliability and validity, so the book is best used a supplement to an already developed measurement foundation. I highly recommend adding this to your reference library, I am sure you will refer to it throughout your career.
|
|
|
