Scales and Indices

This week is about constructing scales and indices -- scrunching a bunch of measurements into one. I think of scales as as a particular kind of index in which all of the component items "point" toward the same thing. Indices in general can incorporate unrelated components. For example, we could construct an index of national well-being that combines economic indicators, technological level, health statistics, and so on.

Primary Readings

• Swenson. Building an additive scale [html]

• Borgatti

  • Scales & Indices

  • Cronbach's alpha

  • Factor Analysis

• Trochim. On Scaling

  • Guttman scaling

  • Thurstone scaling

Bibliography

• • Michael Friendly [html]