Measurements and scales used in mental health

Responsiveness

Does the questionnaire pick up changes over time sufficiently well?

Precision

Do scores vary sufficiently among respondents for measurements to be useful?

Floor and ceiling effects

Where many people score at the upper or lower end of a scale so results are not useful

Appropriateness

Is generally study-specific rather than a property of questionnaires

Feasibility

can you use the tool in the proper way in practice. Impediments might include a lack of time or a lengthy tool, lack of access to training or of money to pay for an expensive tool or not having researchers who have the required training to use the tool

Acceptability

Reasons for an instrument being unacceptable (which can change over time) include: People find it rude or stigmatising, language is hard to comprehend, or seems irrelevant, tone is pessimistic or distressing, looks off-putting, is glitchy, long or hard to use

Cross-cultural validity

Defined as measurement invariance – a scale performs the same way across cultures