Measurement Instruments

Abstract

Abstract The development of measures designed to reveal heterogeneity among anglers and predict their behaviour has been central to scholarship within the human dimensions of recreational anglers for over 40 years. Measures of these constructs —such as values, attitudes, preferences, and norms–are developed using instrumentation that permits their inference based on subjects’ responses to statements that are manifestations of their definition. The development of tools for establishing the validity and reliability of instrumentation has been a century-long pursuit for researchers in the social sciences. Two fundamental questions lie at the heart of the challenge: (1) how can we be sure we a measuring what we claim to measure (validity)? and (2) how can we establish consistency in measurement (reliability)? With the increasing incidence of their application by both scholars with and without training in psychometric measurement, it is worthwhile to review the methods quantitative social scientists use to evaluate measurement instruments, and to help ensure that these normative standards are upheld. We provide a step-by-step guide for the protocols and metrics used to evaluate the psychometric adequacy of latent variable instrumentation. Ultimately, the ability to correctly identify significant relationships among these constructs and their influence on human action is directly tied to our ability to adequately measure the constructs. Studies employing flawed instrumentation will lead to erroneous conclusions and likely undermine the authors’ goal—an understanding of recreational anglers’ heterogeneity and behaviour that can inform the sustainable management of the resource.

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