An introductory comprehensive guide for assessing measurement tool quality: the Contemporary Psychometrics (ConPsy) Checklist
Silia Vitoratou, Nora Uglik‐Marucha, Chloe Hayes, Andrew R. Pickles · 2023
In this work we present a comprehensive checklist for evaluating the psychometric properties of assessment scales, from the perspective of statistical methods. This tool aspires to bring together contemporary understandings on the field and welcomes contributions and opinions from researchers interested in measurement. While not exhaustive, it can be a helpful starting point for those who are interested in psychometric assessment. It aims to be flexible and applicable to a wide range of measurement instruments, regardless of their specific type. It is focused on key aspects of psychometric methodology, namely the scale’s dimensionality (structural validity/factor structure), measurement invariance, reliability (consistency and stability), and briefly discusses validity (construct validity). The checklist provides guidance for binary, ordinal, and continuous data, bringing together appropriate methods suggested in the literature based on the data types. While not extensive, the checklist incorporates methodological justifications for the provided guidelines and the corresponding references.The checklist allows flexibility for researchers to adapt its sections based on the specific criteria and requirements of their study. It benefits multiple stakeholders, including researchers involved in developing new measurement tools, reviewers assessing submitted papers, proposals, and applications, and individuals conducting literature reviews and quality assessments of measurement tools within a particular domain. By incorporating this checklist into their evaluation process, researchers can assess the psychometric properties of their measurement instruments, contributing to the overall accuracy and quality of their work. The checklist aims to support informed decision-making throughout the research process. A corresponding open access software is also provided.