SCALE DEVELOPMENT: A

Content Analysis and

Recommendations for Best
Practices
Roger L. Worthington
Tiffany A. Whittaker
2006 Division 17 of Counseling Psychologist Association

Why is there a need

to conduct this
study?

 Quantitative research methods

Scale development techniques
Structural equation modeling

Purpose:
(a)to provide an overview of the steps
taken in the scale development process
using exploratory factor analysis (EFA)
and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)
(b)to assess current practices by reporting
the results of a 10-year content analysis
of scale development research in
counseling psychology, and
(c) to provide a set of recommendations for
best practices in using EFA and CFA in
scale development

Content Analysis: First Part

Overview of Factor Analysis
EFA
CFA
SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) used to
examine competing models
How many factors are present in an
instrument?
Which items are related to each factors?
Are the factors correlated or uncorrelated?

Content Analysis: Second

Part
Overview of Article-selection Process
Central Criteria in Selection:
Only new scale development research
articles
Only articles that reported results from
EFA and CFA (several elimination
process)

For studies reporting EFA procedure, the following

were noted:
(a) Sample characteristics,
(b) criteria for assessing the factorability of the
correlation matrix,
(c) extraction methods,
(d) criteria for determining rotation method,
(e) rotation methods,
(f) criteria for factor retention,
(g) criteria for item deletion,
(h) purposes and criteria for optimizing scale length

For studies reporting CFA procedure, the

following were noted:
(a)using SEM versus alternative methods
as a confirmatory approach,
(b)sample-size criteria,
(c) fit indexes,
(d)fit-index criteria,
(e)cross-validation indexes, and
(f) model-modification issues

The Process of Scale

Development Research
APPROACHES USED IN SCALE
CONSTRUCTION

Brown (1983)
Logical, empirical, homogeneous
Frienderberg (1995)
Logical-content or rational, theoretical
and emperical

Frienderberg (1995)
Logical uses the scale developers
judgment to identify or construct items that
are obviously related to the characteristics
being measured.
Theoretical used psychological theory to
determine the content of the scale items.
Empirical uses statistical analyses of item
responses as the basis for item selection
based on:
a) Predictive utility of a criterion group
b) Homogeneous item groupings

Steps in Constructing new

instrument (DeVellis, 2003)
(a) Determine clearly what you want to
measure,
(b)generate an item pool,
(c) determine the format of the measure,
(d)have experts review the initial item pool,
(e) consider inclusion of validation items,
(f) administer items to a development
sample
(g)evaluate the items, and
(h)optimize scale length.

The Ordering of EFA and CFA

in New Scale Development
Research

In some instances, is it wise to

use
Confirmatory
Factor
Analysis prior to Exploratory
Factor Analysis?

Byrne (2001)
the
application
of
CFA
procedures
to
assessment
instruments that are still in the
initial stages of development
represents a serious misuse of
this analytic strategy

CFA then CFA?

or
EFA then CFA?