Scale Development: Theory and Applications (Applied Social Research Methods)

Scale Development: Theory and Applications, by Robert F. DeVellis and new co-author Carolyn T. Thorpe, demystifies measurement by emphasizing a logical rather than strictly mathematical understanding of concepts. The Fifth Edition includes a new chapter that lays out the key concepts that distinguish indices from scales, contrasts various types of indices, suggests approaches for developing them, reviews validity and reliability issues, and discusses in broad terms some analytic approaches. All chapters have been updated, and the book strikes a balance between including relevant topics and highlighting recent developments in measurement while retaining an accessible, user-friendly approach to the material covered.

Carolyn T. Thorpe, PhD, MPH, is a tenured Associate Professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy at the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy. She holds a joint appointment as a Research Health Scientist and Core Investigator in the Veterans Affairs (VA) Pittsburgh Healthcare System’s Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP), and serves as Co-Director of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Postdoctoral Pharmacy Fellowship in Medication Safety and Pharmacy Outcomes. She has served on study sections for the National Institutes of Health and Department of Veterans Affairs, as an Associate Editor for the journal Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, and as a reviewer for a diverse range of peer-reviewed journals at the intersection of public health, medicine, and social science. Over the past two decades, Dr. Thorpe has led a federally-funded research program that aims to improve the health of older adults managing complex chronic conditions and has published over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts. Her research interests lie in measuring and examining psychological, social, and behavioral factors related to the safe and appropriate use of medications in older adults, and she has specific expertise in developing and evaluating measures of patient illness self-management behavior and medication nonadherence. She enjoys teaching principles of study design and measurement to professional pharmacy and graduate students and serving as an active research mentor of trainees at all levels.

Robert F. DeVellis is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Health Behavior (Gillings School of Global Public Health) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. DeVellis has more than 40 years of experience in the measurement of psychological and social variables. He served as the first domain chair for Social Outcomes of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) consortium, a multisite National Institutes of Health (NIH) Roadmap initiative directed at identifying, modifying, testing, and disseminating outcome measures for use by NIH investigators. He has served on the Board of Directors for the American Psychological Association’s Division of Health Psychology (38), on the Arthritis Foundation’s Clinical/Outcomes/Therapeutics Research Study Section, and on the Advisory Board of the Veterans Affairs Measurement Excellence Initiative. He is the recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Scholar Award from the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals and is an associate editor of Arthritis Care and Research. In addition, he has served as guest editor, guest associate editor, or reviewer for more than two dozen other journals. He has served as principal investigator or co-investigator since the early 1980s on a series of research projects funded by the federal government and private foundations.