Customer Reviews

Health Measurement Scales: A Practical Guide to Their Development and Use (Oxford Medical Publications)

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I really like this book and wish that I'd found out about it before my psychometrics class in the spring started, because I would have assigned it in a heartbeat. It's got a lot of the kind of practical advice that anyone thinking of creating a scale REALLY needs to hear first, including the #1 bit of advice: Should you make one yourself? For instance, excellent summaries of the work on scale usage biases by Jon Krosnick, Norbert Schwartz, etc., give useful cautionary information for scale constructors. I have a few disagreements---some of the advice about procedures such as some of the scaling methods they mention is out of date, for instance, and the chapters on factor analysis and IRT are a bit weak, but I can cover that with other material. It certainly doesn't detract from the value of the book overall and I've learned a bunch I didn't know reading it. It'll be on the syllabus next time!

This is undoubtedly, one of the best books I have read in this area. The authors follow an appropriate sequence in terms of addressing scale development, testing and analyses issues. The best thing about the book is that it is really easy to comprehend and covers all the important areas. I feel it is a "must buy" for professionals in the area of health-related quality of life and outcomes research.

The book is extremely well written by people that know their field. For people interested in psychometry it gives a new perspective applying psychometrics in the health sciences. I found many applications and suggestions that were very useful.

This book is definally the best one in the field, it is clear and provides all information about psychometry.