- DeVellis, Robert F. , Scale development:
theory and applications, 2nd Ed. Newbury Park, CA:
Sage Publications, 2003.
- Sage publishes good introductory texts on topics in
research methods. This is a good example. It has separate
chapters on reliability and validity and discusses the
underlying "latent variable"--the principal component in
a factor analysis. The second edition seems to be
substantially expanded, including a new presentation on
factor analysis.
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- Babbie, Earl R. The Practice of Social
Research, 10th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2003.
- This is 600+ page $85 textbook treats virtually every
aspect of research methods. You can buy earlier editions
at a fraction of the cost and will get nearly identical
information. It chapter on "Indexes, Scales, and
Typologies" is concise and comprehensive.
- Zeller, Richard A. and Edward G.
Carmines. Measurement in the Social Sciences:
The Link between Theory and Data. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1980.
- This is my favorite, probably because Carmines is a
political scientist. Unfortunately, the book is out of
print, but the library has a copy.
- Manheim, Jarol B., Richard C. Rich,
Lars Willnat. Empirical Political Analysis:
Research Methods in Political Science, 5th Ed.
Longman; 2001.
- This is a fine methods text by a 1971 NU PhD, Jerry
Manheim, a professor at George Washington University and
founding Director of the School of Media & Public
Affairs. I used an earlier edition the last time I taught
our required methods in 1993.
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