In the Fourth Edition of Scale Development, Robert F. DeVellis demystifies measurement by emphasizing a logical rather than strictly mathematical understanding of concepts. The text supports readers in comprehending newer approaches to measurement, comparing them to classical approaches, and grasping more clearly the relative merits of each. This edition addresses new topics pertinent to modern measurement approaches and includes additional exercises and topics for class discussion. Available with Perusall—an eBook that makes it easier to prepare for class Perusall is an award-winning eBook platform featuring social annotation tools that allow students and instructors to collaboratively mark up and discuss their SAGE textbook. Backed by research and supported by technological innovations developed at Harvard University, this process of learning through collaborative annotation keeps your students engaged and makes teaching easier and more effective. Learn more.

Measurement in the social sciences often refers to standardized answers to close-ended questions, in which answers are analyzed as if they were measurements on an interval scale. This volume presents a measurement model that maintains the ordinal aspects of the data in order to establish how well the model fits and how it measures subjects and items. It relaxes the most stringent assumptions from parametric item response theory, while maintaining its advantages over classical measurement methods, such as reliability and factor analysis. This volume is less technical than other books on the topic and is ideal for introductory courses in social science measurement.

Despite the obvious importance of measurement in any scientific endeavor, few students of the social sciences receive adequate training in the principles and problems of assigning numerical values to the subjects, objects, events, groups and operations they study, and still less in the process of translating theoretical ideas and concepts into variables. This kind of casualness with respect to measurement is often in marked contrast to their methodically designed research, which has grown out of subtle and sophisticated theoretical consideration.Scaling is intended to remedy this deficiency by providing a broad and detailed description of the major processes for developing measurement scales. The chapters, which include both classics in the field and the best of modern work, require no great mathematical sophistication, and go well beyond the conventional study of attitudes to the more general uses of scaling. They enable the student and researcher to examine the development of measures of scalability and the problems and weaknesses they present, to become familiar with the development of tests of significance for reproducibility and scalability and the need for them, and to examine the lively history of the subject and experience the excitement that can be secured from sharing with a creative author the first report of his insight.Part One presents a series of general articles that deal in philosophic terms with the problem of measurement, with what is meant by measurement and scaling as well as the notions underlying the process of measuring. Part Two deals with the scaling methods developed by L. L. Thurstone, including paired comparison scaling, equal-appearing interval scaling, and successive interval scaling. The third part focuses upon scalogram analysis, presenting the background, rationale and procedures for Guttman scaling. The fourth part is concerned with summated rating, or Likert scaling. Part Five is a consideration of unfold

Mokken Scale Analysis collectively refers to a set of methods to examine the fit of data to two nonparametric Item Response Theory (IRT) models known as the Monotone Homogeneity Model (MHM) and the Double Monotonicity Model (DMM). As nonparametric IRT models, MHM and DMM are, compared to their parametric counterparts, easier to fit to the noisy data that social science researchers usually work with. Furthermore, the logic behind these models is a lot easier to grasp by researchers who do not have a strong background in algebra. This book is an introductory treatment of the topic with examples from the field of language assessment and research. It describes the basics of MSA and includes step-by-step tutorials to help the readers run the analyses with the R package mokken. Furthermore, case studies are reported to illustrate the concepts introduced throughout the book. The book is comprehensive and reader-friendly and can be followed by most empirical researchers in the social sciences. It is suitable for all researchers and practitioners in the fields of behavioral and social sciences who are engaged in test and scale development. It is an easy-to-use manual that covers everything that you need to know to apply Mokken scaling confidently.

On October 16 and 17, 2000, we hosted an international workshop entitled "Statistical Design, Measurement, and Analysis of Health Related Quality of Life." The workshop was held in the beautiful city of Arradon, South Brittany, France with the main goal of fostering an interdisciplinary forum for discussion of theoretical and applied statistical issues arising in studies of health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Included were biostatisticians, psychometricians and public health professionals (e.g., physicians, sociologists, psychologists) active in the study ofHRQoL. In assembling this volume, we invited each conference participant to contribute a paper based on his or her presentation and the ensuing and very interesting discussions that took place in Arradon. All papers were peer-reviewed, by anonymous reviewers, and revised before final editing and acceptance. Although this process was quite time consuming, we believe that it greatly improved the volume as a whole, making this book a valuable contribution to the field ofHRQoL research. The volume presents a broad spectrum of papers presented at the Workshop, and thus illustrates the range of current research related to the theory, methods and applications of HRQoL, as well as the interdisciplinary nature ofthis work. Following an introduction written by Sir David Cox, it includes 27 articles organized into the following chapters.