The six steps to develop the scale:
- Literature review - Define the construct precisely and identify existing measures - e.g., researching scholarly definitions of educational self-efficacy
- Interviews and focus groups - Align conceptualization with respondent understanding - e.g., comparing academic definitions of self-efficacy with Imperial students’ perspectives
- Synthesis - Reconcile academic and lay understandings, using respondent vocabulary where appropriate - e.g., creating a list of sub-themes for educational self-efficacy
- Preliminary item development - Create items representing identified themes, slightly more than needed for the final scale - e.g., developing 8-9 items for a 5-item self-efficacy scale
- Expert validation - Gather feedback from field experts on item relevance and potential improvements - e.g., having self-efficacy experts review and critique developed items
- Cognitive pretesting - Conduct one-on-one interviews to ensure consistent item interpretation - e.g., asking respondents to rephrase items and think aloud while answering
Post-development, pilot testing with potential respondents is crucial. Pilot testing assesses item performance and scale consistency. Analysis includes examining item means, variability, inter-item correlations, and overall reliability.