Methodology Guide
Scale Development, From Start to Finish
From construct extraction to EFA, CFA, validity testing, and methodology section drafting. A stage-by-stage guide to the modidoc pipeline.
- C9August 20, 20267 min read
Final Checks Before Fielding a Questionnaire — Item Order, Reverse Coding, and the Codebook
What has to be settled before a questionnaire goes out: how item order shapes responses, how to handle reverse-coded items, and what a codebook must contain to keep the analysis reproducible.
- C8August 20, 20268 min read
SEM Sample Size and Model Identification — Pre-Checks Before You Collect Data
How to check whether your structural equation model is estimable before collecting data: identification conditions, sample size determination, why G*Power does not apply to SEM, and bootstrapping indirect effects.
- C7August 20, 20268 min read
Is AVE Below 0.5 a Dead End — Judging Below-Threshold Results and Writing Limitations
How to judge results that fall short: AVE under 0.5, poor CFA fit, partial invariance. When to go back and revise, when to carry the shortfall as a stated limitation, and how to write limitations reviewers accept.
- C6August 20, 20268 min read
Measurement Invariance Before Group Comparison — Multi-Group CFA Steps and ΔCFI Thresholds
Why group comparison requires measurement invariance: the four-step multi-group CFA sequence, the ΔCFI and ΔRMSEA thresholds, and how to justify partial invariance in a manuscript.
- AM-1August 20, 20268 min read
APA Methods Section for Scale Development: CFA Reporting Examples
Write a scale development methods section and report CFA results with worked paragraphs, a fit table, APA statistical formatting, and AI disclosure guidance.
- C5June 29, 20267 min read
CFA Fit Indices: CFI, RMSEA, and SRMR Cutoffs Explained
Interpret CFA fit indices with a cutoff table, examples of conflicting CFI and RMSEA, and guidance on modification indices and transparent reporting.
- C5June 20, 20269 min read
Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) Reliability and Validity Re-Tested — Cronbach's Alpha 0.911, the Item 8 Problem, and Single-Factor CFA Misfit
A reproduction of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) validation on public response data: Cronbach's alpha of 0.911 matched the literature, and the dimensionality debate, Item 8's low item-total correlation (0.545), and single-factor CFA misfit (CFI 0.869) all reappeared. How to re-validate a published scale and what to conclude.
- C4June 12, 20268 min read
EFA Pre-Checks: KMO, Bartlett's Test, and Parallel Analysis
Interpret KMO and Bartlett's test, choose factors with parallel analysis, and review EFA results through a worked example with practical next steps.
- C3June 12, 20267 min read
What Is Cognitive Interviewing? How to Solve Survey Items That Respondents Read Differently
Explains the concept of cognitive interviewing and the Think-Aloud and Probing techniques, how to detect interpretation mismatches in survey items in advance, and the recommended number of participants.
- C2May 26, 202610 min read
Survey Item Design — Item Generation, Linguistic Flaw Detection, and Common Method Bias Prevention
How to generate Likert-scale items from factor definitions, detect double negatives, double-barreled questions, and leading language, and prevent common method bias through reverse items, marker variables, and design-stage controls.
- C1May 26, 20267 min read
Construct Extraction and Factor Structuring — A Complete Guide to Scale Development Step 1
How to extract measurable constructs from a research abstract, define factors operationally, and validate content validity using CVR and CVI before writing a single survey item.