Abstract
This theoretical essay aims to study how scales are developed and through which procedures they can be considered valid and suitable for use as legitimate scientific instruments. In this perspective, this paper's objective was to develop a protocol for constructing scales to measure attitude. The proposed protocol is configured as a logical meeting of steps based on theorists such as Allport and Hartman (1925)Allport, F. H., & Hartman, D. A. (1925). The measurement and motivation of atypical opinion in a certain group. The American Political Review, 19(4), 735-760. doi: 10.2307/2939163
https://doi.org/10.2307/2939163...
, Thurstone (1928)Thurstone, L. L. (1928). Attitudes can be measured. American Journal of Sociology, 33(4), 529-554. doi: 10.1086/214483
https://doi.org/10.1086/214483...
, Likert (1932)Likert, R. (1932). A technique for the measurement of attitudes. Archives of Psychology, 22(140), 1-55., Campbell and Fiske (1959)Campbell, D. T., & Fiske, D. W. (1959). Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 56(2), 81-105. doi: 10.1037/h0046016
https://doi.org/10.1037/h0046016...
and Bock (1972)Bock, R. D. (1972). Estimating item parameters and latent ability when responses are scored in two or more nominal categories. Psychometrika, 37(1), 29-51. doi: 10.1007/BF02291411
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02291411...
, which permeate all aspects of drafting scales, including construct definition, the choice of the scale itself, item preparation, scale purification, and finally its validation. At the end of the study, we present a protocol for the preparation of specific scales to measure attitude that differs from existing protocols in Churchill (1979)Churchill, G. A. (1979). A paradigm for developing better measures of marketing constructs. Journal of Marketing Research, 16(1), 64-73. doi: 10.2307/3150876
https://doi.org/10.2307/3150876...
, Rossiter (2002)Rossiter, J. (2002). The C-OAR-SE procedure for scale development in marketing. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 19(4), 305-335. doi: 10.1016/S0167-8116(02)00097-6
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8116(02)00...
and DeVellis (2003)DeVellis, R. F. (2003). Scale development: theory and applications (2nd ed.). London: Sage Publications, Inc.. This is in order to unite for the first time a set of promising techniques, primarily the objective delineation of the construct using focus group methodology, the proposition of an inherently dichotomous scale, scale purification via item response theory (IRT), and predictive validity.
Key words
attitude measurement; scale-proposition protocol; scale measurement; multiple scale
