Scale Needs and Utilization

Abstract

In reviewing the evaluations of crime and delinquency research, it is far easier to find negative, critical, and discouraging statements than to find positive ones. As Hirschi and Selvin (1967) point out in the delinquency area, “the critic… does not have a difficult time justifying his existence… theorists, practitioners, and laymen are virtually unanimous in condemning… this research as inconclusive and inconsistent” (p. 15). In fact, virtually every area within these two topics has been strongly criticized. The present work addresses itself to an important set of these criticisms—that of availability, reliability, and validity of research instruments and scales. Improvement in this area may well have a dual effect. First, it will allow better questions to be asked, since scientists often formulate problems to study by using existing techniques and instruments. As these tools improve, so too should the resulting questions and issues studied. Second, it will increase the probability that these scales, questionnaires, and other instruments will yield objective, reliable, and valid answers.