The concepts of quality of measurements made by rating scales and multi-scale questionnaires are validity and reliability. Corresponding concepts for quantitative data (interval and ratio data) are accuracy and precision. A rating scale is valid if it measures what it is intended to measure in the specific study. The validity of self-estimated subjective phenomena is relative and cannot be assessed absolutely. The validity of a scale is study specific, and must be considered each time the scale or the questionnaire is chosen for a new study. Therefore there are various concepts of validity, each addressing a specific type of quality assessment. The main concepts are criterion, construct, and content validity, but a large number of sub concepts are used. The meaning of these concepts is not univocal and depends on applications and research paradigms. Criterion validityrefers to the conformity of a scale to a true state or a gold standard, and depending on the purpose of the study sub...
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References and Further Reading
Svensson E (2000a) Comparison of the quality of assessments using continuous and discrete ordinal rating scales. Biometrical J 42:417–434
Svensson E (2000b) Concordance between ratings using different scales for the same variable. Stat Med 19(24):3483–3496
Svensson E, Schillberg B, Kling AM, Nyström B (2009) The balanced inventory for spinal disorders. The validity of a disease specific questionnaire for evaluation of outcomes in patients with various spinal disorders. Spine 34(18):1976–1983
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Svensson, E.D. (2011). Validity of Scales. In: Lovric, M. (eds) International Encyclopedia of Statistical Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04898-2_98
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