- Title
- Measurement in the social sciences: where C-OAR-SE delivers and where it does not
- Creator
- Salzberger, Thomas; Sarstedt, Marko; Diamantopoulos, Adamantios
- Relation
- European Journal of Marketing Vol. 50, Issue 11, p. 1942-1952
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/EJM-10-2016-0547
- Publisher
- Emerald Publishing
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2016
- Description
- Purpose: This paper aims to critically comment Rossiter's "How to use C-OAR-SE to design optimal standard measures" in the current issue of EJM and provides a broader perspective on Rossiter's C-OAR-SE framework and measurement practice in marketing in general. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is conceptual, based on interpretation of measurement theory. Findings: The paper shows that, at best, Rossiter's mathematical dismissal of convergent validity applies to the completely hypothetical (and highly unlikely) situation where a perfect measure without any error would be available. Further considerations cast serious doubt on the appropriateness of Rossiter's concrete object, dual subattribute-based single item measures. Being immunized against any piece of empirical evidence, C-OAR-SE cannot be considered a scientific theory and is bound to perpetuate, if not aggravate, the fundamental flaws in current measurement practice. While C-OAR-SE indeed helps generate more content valid instruments, the procedure offers no insights as to whether these instruments work properly to be used in research and practice. Practical implications: This paper concludes that great caution needs to be exercised before adapting measurement instruments based on the C-OAR-SE procedure, and statistical evidence remains essential for validity assessment. Originality/value: This paper identifies several serious conceptual and operational problems in Rossiter's C-OAR-SE procedure and discusses how to align measurement in the social sciences to be compatible with the definition of measurement in the physical sciences.
- Subject
- psychometrics; content validity; C-OAR-SE; convergent validity; predictive validity
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1331691
- Identifier
- uon:26682
- Identifier
- ISSN:0309-0566
- Language
- eng
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