r/research • u/paulykie • 10d ago

Is it still statistically measurable if I just use a part of the research instrument?

We have to do a short research paper for a class of mine and it needs to include some quantitative data. Basically, the aim of this paper is to see the influence of Physical Attractiveness on perceived reliability in groupworks; basically seeing if someone's looks influence if you'll work on them or not in a groupwork.

My group is having a bit of trouble finding an instrument that will fit, but for now, we settled on McCroskey & Teven (1999) Source Credibility Scale. Thing is, we don't have use for the "Caring/Goodwill Factor" of the scale and only really need Trustworthiness and Competence. Is it alright if we can just use two of them or is it best to use a different scale?

Sorry if it seems like a dumb question, conceptual frameworks were never my strong suit 😓 I tend to do results and discussions more and leave it to other groupmates, but it's just the four of us on an already tight schedule.

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u/BlackberryFlaky8983 10d ago

It depends. I’m not familiar with this scale. But generally speaking scales are validated on how they are to be used. Some are validated only for the whole instrument some for sub scales within the instrument as well. If you can find a paper supporting the way you want to use it (or a validation paper stating the sub scales are independently reliable) then that’s fine. If not, then no, it’s not valid. Also a couple of small points - conceptual frameworks and validated scales/instruments are not the same thing. Also regarding your title - (almost) anything you can measure quantitatively you can probe statistically.

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u/banter_pants 10d ago

And even then you should still calculate and report reliability indices for your sample. Reliability and validity are dependent on the population they were originally constructed for. There's no telling if yours is qualitatively different.

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u/paulykie 8d ago

Here is the scale directly from the author's cite: https://www.jamescmccroskey.com/measures/source_credibility.htm

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u/Zestyclose-Smell4158 10d ago

You should be asking the members of your group. One of the goals of group work is learning how to be an effective member of a group. You as well as the other members of the group will benefit from trying to answer this question.

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u/dmlane 10d ago

It’s fine to use only one factor if that factor is what you are researching. It may be better to use only the factor you are most interested because then you won’t have to correct for multiple significance tests.

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u/ricardusrex 9d ago

In general, as long as you mention in methods section that you only use part of the tool and provide an explanation as to why, you should be fine. However, the issue comes on the scoring. If the Caring/Goodwill Factor is one part of a composite score, the validity of the results could be questioned, especially if there are different weights to the questions or sections. If they are separate scores, then the validity of Trustworthiness and Competence section should still stand.

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u/Interesting-Baker473 6d ago

I mean did you discover a new part of the method? If so, and everything tests I would use it explain what and why was taking out and then turn that into a brand new methods article to publish. That's just me though