Applied Psychometrics: The Steps of Scale Development and Standardization Process

This work focuses on presenting the development process of a self-reporting measurement instrument. Numerous scale development procedures are reviewed. They are all summarized into an overall framework of consecutive steps. A concise description is contained in each step. Issues covered comprise the following. First, the theoretical underpinning of the scale construct is described, along with the response specifications and response formats available (most popular like Likert and some more elaborated). Then the item writing guidelines follow together with strategies for discarding poor items when finalizing the item pool. The item selection criteria described comprise an expert panel review, pretesting and item analysis. Finally, the dimensionality evaluation is summarized along with test scoring and standardizing (norming). Scale construction has implications on research conclusions, affecting reliability and the statistical significance of the effects obtained or stated differently the accuracy and sensitivity of the instruments.