Designing and Constructing Instruments for Social Research and Evaluation
Published on 28. June 2008
412 pages
978-0-7879-9808-0 (ISBN)
Description
Written in easy-to-understand language, this important textprovides a systematic and commonsense approach to developinginstruments for data collection and analysis. This book can be usedby both those who are developing instruments for the first time andthose who want to hone their skills, including students, agencypersonnel, program managers, and researchers.
This book provides a thorough presentation of instrumentconstruction, from conception to development and pre-testing ofitems, formatting the instrument, administration, and, finally,data management and presentation of the findings. Throughoutthe book, the authors emphasize how to create an instrumentthat will produce trustworthy and accurate data. To that end theyhave included guidelines for reviewing and revising thequestionnaire to enhance validity and reliability. They also showhow to work effectively with stakeholders such as instrumentsdesigners, decision-makers, agency personnel, clients, and ratersor respondents.
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David Colton | Robert W. Covert
Designing and Constructing Instruments for Social Research and Evaluation
Book
09/2007
Jossey-Bass
€83.90
Shipment within 10-20 days
Persons
David Colton, Ph.D., is adjunct professor at the Universityof Virginia's Curry School of Graduate Studies in the program inResearch, Statistics, and Evaluation, and in the Department ofHealth Care Administration, Mary Baldwin College, Staunton,Virginia.
Robert W. Covert, Ph.D., is associate professor at theUniversity of Virginia's Curry School of Graduate Studies in theprogram in Research, Statistics, and Evaluation.
Content
Figures, Exhibits, Tables, and Instruments.
Preface: Asking and Answering.
Feedback.
Acknowledgments.
The Authors.
PART ONE: CONCEPTS.
1. Introduction.
2. Instruments and Social Inquiry.
3. Measurement.
4. Instrument Construction, Validity, and Reliability.
PART TWO: APPLICATION.
5. Purposeful Creativity: First Steps in the Development of anInstrument.
6. Pretesting.
7. The Structure and Format of Selection Items.
8. Guidelines for Writing Selection Items.
9. Selection Items: Alternative Formats.
10. Supply Items: Open-Ended Questions.
11. Guidelines for Constructing Multi-Item Scales.
PART THREE: ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.
12. Organizing the Instrument.
13. Administering the Instrument.
14. Computers and Instrument Construction.
15. Managing the Data and Reporting the Results.
References.
Index.
