Designing a Communimetric Measure

Abstract

As discussed, it is in the design phase that the distinctions between communimetrics and other theories of measurement are the clearest. Psychometric theories of measurement base many major instrument design considerations on the statistical performance of items and sets of items. While statistical relationships can be important, these are not the primary dictates for design considerations of a communimetric tool. This is one reason why some measurement theorists have suggested that clinimetric approaches that focus on the meaning of the item, and psychometric approaches that focus on the statistical performance of the item are complementary (Fava & Belaise, 2005). In this way of thinking, clinimetrics informs the design of items but psychometrics then are performed to determine whether the items are effective.