We investigate evidence-based methods for developing measurement instruments in the social and political sciences. We apply methods that aim to minimize different sources of errors of measurement when we design survey items. 

We are part of the questionnaire design group of the Core Scientific Team of the European Social Survey (ESS) and have collaborated in the design of the ESS questionnaires since its first edition in 2001. We use the Survey Quality Predictor software to predict and minimize measurement error caused by characteristics of survey items.

We collaborate with research teams around the globe to design measurement instruments. See some examples of our collaborations in consulting projects.

 

Selected publications:

Fitzgerald, R., & Zavala-Rojas, D. (2020). A model for Cross-national Questionnaire Design and Pretesting. In P. C. Beatty, D. Collins, T. Kaye, J. Padilla, G. B. Willis, & A. Wilmot (Eds.), Advances in Questionnaire Design, Development, Evaluation and Testing. Wiley & Sons. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119263685.ch20

Weber, W., Gallhofer, I. N. and Saris W.E. (2020). Weber, W., Gallhofer, I. N. and Saris W.E. (2020). Design of Survey Questions. SAGE Research Methods Foundations. SAGE Research Methods.

Bosch, O.J, Revilla, M., DeCastellarnau, A. and W. Weber (2018). "Measurement reliability, validity and quality of slider versus radio button scales in an online probability-based panel in Norway." Social Science Computer Review, Article first published online: March 15, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439317750089

Creighton, M., Schmidt, P., & Zavala-Rojas, D. (2018). Race, Wealth and the Masking of Opposition to Immigrants in the Netherlands. International Migration. doi:10.1111/imig.12519

Höhne J.K., Revilla, M., and T. Lenzner (2018). "Comparing the Performance of Agree/Disagree and Item-Specific Questions across PCs and Smartphones". Methodology, 14(3), 109–118.https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-2241/a000151

Penyalver, D., Turró, M., & Zavala-Rojas, D. (2018). Intergenerational perception of the utility of major transport projects. Research in Transportation Economics, 70, 97–111. doi:10.1016/j.retrec.2017.11.001

Zavala-Rojas, D., Tormos, R., Weber, W., & Revilla, M. (2018). Designing response scales with multi-trait-multi-method experiments. Mathematical Population Studies, 25(2), 66–81. doi:10.1080/08898480.2018.1439241

Dobney, S., Ochoa, C., and M. Revilla (2017). "More Realism in Conjoint Analysis: The Effect of Textual Noise and Visual Style." International Journal of Market Research, 59(4): 495-516.https://doi.org/10.2501/IJMR-2017-037

Revilla, M. A., Zavala-Rojas, D., & Saris, W. E. (2016). Creating a good question: how to use cumulative experience? In C. Wolf, D. Joye, T. W. Smith, & Y. Fu (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Survey Methodology (pp. 236–254). London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Revilla, M. (2015). “Effect of using different labels for the scales in a web survey”. International Journal of Market Research, 2015, 57(2):225-238. First published online on June 1, 2014:
https://www.mrs.org.uk/ijmr_article/article/101773. DOI: 10.2501/IJMR-2014-028

Saris, W. E., & Gallhofer, I. (2014). Design, evaluation, and analysis of questionnaires for survey research. Wiley Series in Survey Methodology (Second, Vol. 548). John Wiley & Sons. doi:10.1111/j.1751-5823.2008.00054_20.x

Revilla, M., Ochoa, C., and G. Loewe (2014). “How the form of asking respondents’ three preferred brands changes the results”.  Metodología de Encuestas, 16: 67-82.

Revilla, M., Saris, W.E., and Krosnick, J.A. (2014) “Choosing the number of categories in agree-disagree scales”. Sociological Methods and Research February 2014, 43: 73-97, first published online on December 10, 2013 doi:10.1177/0049124113509605

Zavala-Rojas, D. (2014). Thermometer Scale (Feeling Thermometer). In A. C. Michalos (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research (pp. 6633–6634). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_1028

Zavala-Rojas, D. (2014). Categorical Judgement Scales. In A. C. Michalos (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research (pp. 604–606). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_292

Zavala-Rojas, D. (2014). Unipolar Scales. In A. C. Michalos (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research (pp. 6775–6776). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_3089

Zavala-Rojas, D. (2014). Fixed Reference Points. In A. C. Michalos (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research (pp. 2283–2284). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_1056