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Validity Concerns with Multiplying Ordinal Items Defined by Binned Counts: An Application to a Quantity-Frequency
James S McGinley1, Patrick J Curran1
1University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Methodology : European Journal of Research Methods for the Behavioral & Social Sciences
|November 11, 2014
Summary
Multiplying ordinal survey items, common in substance use research, can distort measurements. This method, used for alcohol consumption indices, threatens construct validity and accurate measurement.
Area of Science:
- Social and behavioral sciences
- Quantitative psychology
- Substance use research
Background:
- Social scientists often convert count data into ordinal categories.
- Multiplying these ordinal items to create indices is a common but understudied practice.
- This method is particularly prevalent in substance use research for measuring consumption.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of multiplying ordinal items on construct validity.
- To analyze the consequences for accurately measuring alcohol consumption.
Main Methods:
- Analytical demonstration of the multiplicative procedure's effects.
- Empirical validation of the analytical findings.
Main Results:
- The multiplicative procedure can introduce significant threats to construct validity.
- These threats directly impair the accurate measurement of alcohol consumption.
Conclusions:
- The common practice of multiplying ordinal variables poses a risk to measurement validity.
- Researchers should carefully consider alternative methods for constructing indices, especially in substance use studies.
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