Scale validity - A computer content analysis approach

This article presents a computer content analysis approach to the problem of assessing the validity of Likert scales used in survey research. The wording of questions that make up a scale communicates meaning to the respondent in order to acquire relevant responses that, when combined, serve to measure some concept. Traditionally, beyond informal judgments of face validity, investigators examine responses of a sample of subjects to scale questions in order to determine if expected relationships and structure are found. The content analysis procedure proposed here directly examines the wording of scale questions to see if expected meanings, relationships, and structure are found in order to assess the validity of a scale. Possibilities of this approach are illustrated using two previously analyzed sets of scales: alienation and perception of police and crime.