Mixed Research as a Tool for Developing Quantitative Instruments

Abstract

In this methodological article, the authors present a meta-framework—comprising several frameworks and models, as well as multiple research approaches—that they call an Instrument Development and Construct Validation (IDCV) process for optimizing the development of quantitative instruments. Using mixed research techniques, the IDCV contains 10 phases that detail the progression from an interdisciplinary review of the literature to the development of the instrument to the evaluation of the instrument development and construct validation process and product(s). Crossover analyses represent a key mechanism in the IDCV, wherein analysis types from one tradition (e.g., quantitative analysis) are used to analyze data from a different tradition (e.g., qualitative data). Finally, the authors provide a heuristic example of a rigorous way to develop a Likert-format scale.