Designing and Constructing Instruments for Social Research and Evaluation

Written in easy-to-understand language, this important text provides a systematic and commonsense approach to developing instruments for data collection and analysis. This book can be used by both those who are developing instruments for the first time and those who want to hone their skills, including students, agency personnel, program managers, and researchers.

This book provides a thorough presentation of instrument construction, from conception to development and pre-testing of items, formatting the instrument, administration, and, finally, data management and presentation of the findings. Throughout the book, the authors emphasize how to create an instrument that will produce trustworthy and accurate data. To that end they have included guidelines for reviewing and revising the questionnaire to enhance validity and reliability. They also show how to work effectively with stakeholders such as instruments designers, decision-makers, agency personnel, clients, and raters or respondents.

Figures, Exhibits, Tables, and Instruments vii

Preface: Asking and Answering ix

The Authors xv

Part One: Concepts 1

1 Introduction 3

2 Instruments and Social Inquiry 28

3 Measurement 52

4 Instrument Construction, Validity, and Reliability 64

Part Two: Application 95

5 Purposeful Creativity: First Steps in the Development of an Instrument 97

6 Pretesting 128

7 The Structure and Format of Selection Items 148

8 Guidelines for Writing Selection Items 173

9 Selection Items: Alternative Formats 208

10 Supply Items: Open-Ended Questions 227

11 Guidelines for Constructing Multi-Item Scales 247

Part Three: Organization and Administration 279

12 Organizing the Instrument 281

13 Administering the Instrument 313

14 Computers and Instrument Construction 337

15 Managing the Data and Reporting the Results 350

References 374

Index 383

David Colton, Ph.D., is adjunct professor at the University of Virginia's Curry School of Graduate Studies in the program in Research, Statistics, and Evaluation, and in the Department of Health Care Administration, Mary Baldwin College, Staunton, Virginia.

Robert W. Covert, Ph.D., is associate professor at the University of Virginia's Curry School of Graduate Studies in the program in Research, Statistics, and Evaluation.

Designing and Constructing Instruments for Social Research and Evaluation is a comprehensive step-by-step guide to creating effective surveys, polls, questionnaires, customer satisfaction forms, ratings, checklists, and other instruments.

Written in easy-to-understand language, this important text provides a systematic and commonsense approach to developing instruments for data collection and analysis. This book can be used by both those who are developing instruments for the first time and those who want to hone their skills, including students, agency personnel, program managers, and researchers.

This book provides a thorough presentation of instrument construction, from conception to development and pre-testing of items, formatting the instrument, administration, and, finally, data management and presentation of the findings. Throughout the book, the authors emphasize how to create an instrument that will produce trustworthy and accurate data. To that end they have included guidelines for reviewing and revising the questionnaire to enhance validity and reliability. They also show how to work effectively with stakeholders such as instrument designers, decision-makers, agency personnel, clients, and raters or respondents.