How do I create a composite of items?
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'''How do I create a composite of items?''' | '''How do I create a composite of items?''' | ||
*You composite questions into 1 variable by averaging together all the individual questions. [[Image:Fe40.png]] - Imagine you have 5 questions designed to measure a person's current (negative) emotional state, such as "How strongly do you feel each of the following emotions? Sad, Upset, Depressed, Anxious, Nervous." You have data for all 5 questions, so you can average all 5 questions together to create 1 composite encapsulates how the participant feels at the moment. | *You composite questions into 1 variable by averaging together all the individual questions. [[Image:Fe40.png]] - Imagine you have 5 questions designed to measure a person's current (negative) emotional state, such as "How strongly do you feel each of the following emotions? Sad, Upset, Depressed, Anxious, Nervous." You have data for all 5 questions, so you can average all 5 questions together to create 1 composite encapsulates how the participant feels at the moment. | ||
| - | *However, before you can average all the items together | + | *However, before you can average all the items together, the items first need to be on the same scale range, and reverse coded, if necessary. See [[How do I create a composite with items with different scale ranges?]] and [[How do I create a composite with items labeled in opposite directions?]] |
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Revision as of 03:05, 25 May 2008
How do I create a composite of items?
- You composite questions into 1 variable by averaging together all the individual questions.
- Imagine you have 5 questions designed to measure a person's current (negative) emotional state, such as "How strongly do you feel each of the following emotions? Sad, Upset, Depressed, Anxious, Nervous." You have data for all 5 questions, so you can average all 5 questions together to create 1 composite encapsulates how the participant feels at the moment.
- However, before you can average all the items together, the items first need to be on the same scale range, and reverse coded, if necessary. See How do I create a composite with items with different scale ranges? and How do I create a composite with items labeled in opposite directions?
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