Developing and validating rapid assessment instruments

This book provides an overview of scale and test development. From conceptualization through design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation, critical concerns are identified and grounded in the increasingly sophisticated psychometric literature. Measurement within the health, social, and behavioral sciences is addressed, and technical and practical guidance is provided. Acknowledging the increasingly sophisticated contributions in social work, psychology, education, nursing, and medicine, the book balances condensation of complex conceptual challenges with focused recommendations for conceiving, planning, and implementing psychometric study. Primary points are carefully referenced and consistently illustrated to illuminate complicated or abstract principles. Basics of construct conceptualization and establishing evidence of validity are complimented with introductions to concept mapping and cross-cultural translation. In-depth discussion of cutting edge topics like bias and invariance in item responses is provided. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic strategies are illustrated and critiqued, and step-by-step guidance is offered for anticipating elements of a complete data collection instrument, determining sampling frame and size, and interpreting resulting coefficients. Much good work has been done by RAI developers to date. Too often, practitioners or researchers either underestimate the skills and effort required, or become overwhelmed by the complexities involved.