Book contents
- Handbook of Research Methods in Social and Personality Psychology
- Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology
- Handbook of Research Methods in Social and Personality Psychology
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Introduction
- 1 The Romance of Research Methods
- Part I Before You Dive In
- Part II Basic Design Considerations to Know, No Matter What Your Research Is About
- Part III Deep Dives on Methods and Tools for Testing Your Question of Interest
- Part IV Understanding What Your Data Are Telling You About Psychological Processes
- 20 Measurement
- 21 Advanced Psychometrics
- 22 Dealing with Repeated Measures
- 23 The Design and Analysis of Data from Dyads and Groups
- 24 Random Factors and Research Generalization
- 25 Combining Statistical and Causal Mediation Analysis
- 26 Mathematical and Computational Models
- 27 Meta-analysis
- Index
- References
20 - Measurement
Reliability, Construct Validation, and Scale Construction
from Part IV - Understanding What Your Data Are Telling You About Psychological Processes
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 December 2024
- Handbook of Research Methods in Social and Personality Psychology
- Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology
- Handbook of Research Methods in Social and Personality Psychology
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Introduction
- 1 The Romance of Research Methods
- Part I Before You Dive In
- Part II Basic Design Considerations to Know, No Matter What Your Research Is About
- Part III Deep Dives on Methods and Tools for Testing Your Question of Interest
- Part IV Understanding What Your Data Are Telling You About Psychological Processes
- 20 Measurement
- 21 Advanced Psychometrics
- 22 Dealing with Repeated Measures
- 23 The Design and Analysis of Data from Dyads and Groups
- 24 Random Factors and Research Generalization
- 25 Combining Statistical and Causal Mediation Analysis
- 26 Mathematical and Computational Models
- 27 Meta-analysis
- Index
- References
Summary
Adequate measurement of psychological phenomena is a fundamental aspect of theory construction and validation. Forming composite scales from individual items has a long and honored tradition, although, for predictive purposes, the power of using individual items should be considered. We outline several fundamental steps in the scale construction process, including (1) choosing between prediction and explanation; (2) specifying the construct(s) to measure; (3) choosing items thought to measure these constructs; (4) administering the items; (5) examining the structure and properties of composites of items (scales); (6) forming, scoring, and examining the scales; and (7) validating the resulting scales.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024