Identify the instrument that was actually administered
A scale name is insufficient. Locate the original publication, manual or official instrument repository and compare wording, item order, response options, recall period and scoring instructions with the questionnaire in the study. Translations, short forms and revisions may have separate publications and different evidence. Record the precise version used.
Create an item inventory with stable IDs. Assign each item a source, original item number and modification status. When selecting only part of a scale, identify omitted items and explain the choice. One reference beneath the questionnaire does not make those decisions reproducible.
Treat every modification as a methods decision
A single word can alter a construct. Replacing “during the last seven days” with “usually” changes the reference period; replacing “work” with “study” changes context. Removing items may narrow content coverage. New response categories affect distributions and comparability. Do not describe such a questionnaire simply as the unchanged original scale.
For translations, document source language, contributors, stages, disputed terms and testing with the target group. Back-translation may be one component but does not guarantee equivalence. Cultural meaning and comprehensibility require their own evaluation.
Self-developed items need a visible route from research question and construct definition to wording, response format and order. Cognitive interviews or pretests can expose misunderstandings. Report the work and sample actually completed, without turning a small pilot into a universal validity claim.
Do not inherit measurement properties automatically
Published reliability or validity evidence belongs to a specified instrument under described conditions. Language, population, administration mode, shortening and scoring may affect transferability. Attribute reported coefficients to the study that produced them rather than presenting them as permanent properties of an adapted version.
Select analyses because they match the construct and design. There is no universal minimum number that automatically makes every scale acceptable. If internal consistency, test–retest association, factor structure or criterion relationship is examined, report computation, uncertainty and data basis. One coefficient cannot replace an argument about content and construct validity.
Cut-offs and labels can have substantial consequences. Use them only when source, population, purpose and application are suitable and relevant expert review has occurred. Do not derive a threshold casually from the study mean or transfer a clinical cut-off to an unrelated purpose. Label exploratory interpretations as exploratory.
Report source, permissions and administration together
The methods section states instrument name, version, language, source, item count, response format, recall period, changes and scoring. An appendix may reproduce items only where permissions and participant protection allow. If licensing prevents publication of the wording, provide a lawful route to the authorised instrument without promising unrestricted access.
Separate citation from permission. A correct reference is not a licence, and permission does not remove the need for scholarly attribution. Archive the licence, permission correspondence or official terms that applied. Note conditions governing translation, electronic administration, modification and redistribution.
The Research methods hub connects related tools. The claim–source matrix can test later statements about results. Exactly one foundation destination is linked: source and evidence foundations.
Check the implemented questionnaire
- Every item has an ID, origin and modification status.
- Version, language and response format are unambiguous.
- Adaptations are documented at wording level.
- Permission and citation were checked separately.
- Pilot and measurement work are claimed only as performed.
- Published coefficients remain attached to their populations.
- Scores and cut-offs have a justified source.
- Appendix and data storage respect rights and privacy.
Compare the programmed survey with the documented instrument. Randomisation, mandatory fields, branching and automatic reverse coding may alter administration. Export a readable test version and record deviations. The cited version must correspond to what participants actually saw.
Where collaborators build the form, assign one person to compare every item ID and option before launch. Corrections made after data collection begins receive a timestamp and affected-response range. Do not silently merge responses gathered under materially different versions; determine and report the analysis treatment.