Test of Practicality of a measuring instrument

The practicality attribute of a measuring instrument can be estimated regarding its economy, convenience and interpretability. From the operational point of view, the measuring instrument needs to be practical. In other words, it should be economical, convenient and interpreted.

Economy consideration suggests that some mutual benefit is required between the ideal research project and that which the budget can afford. The length of measuring instrument is an important area where economic pressures are swiftly felt. Even though more items give better reliability, in the interest of limiting the interview or observation time, we have to take only few items for the study purpose. Similarly, the data-collection methods, which are to be used, occasionally depend upon economic factors.

Convenience test suggests that the measuring instrument should be easily manageable. For this purpose, one should pay proper attention to the layout of the measuring instrument. For example, a questionnaire with clear instructions and illustrated examples is comparatively more effective and easier to complete than the questionnaire that lacks these features. Interpretability consideration is especially important when persons other than the designers of the test are to interpret the results. In order to be interpretable, the measuring instrument must be supplemented by the following:

1. detailed instructions for administering the test,
2. scoring keys,
3. evidence about the reliability, and
4. guides for using the test and interpreting results.

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