This course is designed to provide skills necessary to develop, validate, and administer both qualitative and quantitative instruments. The course will provide information on: creating valid instruments; ensuring that the instrument addresses the research questions, research design, and samples; determining when to use standardized measures or develop own measures; developing items and response scales; and instrument validation techniques including item response theory and factor analyses.
At the end of this course, students will be able to do the following:
- Demonstrate proficiency in developing reliable and valid instruments addressing a number of constructs related to health.
-Identify key principles of measurement development.
- Develop strategies and tests for ensuring that the item and response scales match, that the measures are valid for the sampling frame and research design, that the instrument fits within the scope and budget of the project, and that the survey can be administered appropriately.
-Analyze instrument and scale data to test the instrument, including the reliability and validity of the instrument.