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To Weight or not to Weight: The Role of Domain Importance in Quality of Life Measurement

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Abstract

Although there are problems associated with thepractice of deriving weighted satisfactionscores by multiplying importance ratings andsatisfaction ratings of life domains, theseproblems do not seem sufficient to justify theabandonment of incorporating domain importanceweighting into quality of life (QoL)instruments. This paper shows that domainimportance as a weighting mechanism in QoLinstruments can be conceptually,psychometrically and empirically reasonable. Given the lack of conceptual or theoreticaldevelopment regarding the role of domainimportance in QoL instruments, it is importantto focus our attention on how to weight.

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  1. Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1040 West Harrison Street (M/C 309), Chicago, IL, 60607-7134, USA

    Chang-ming Hsieh

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  1. Chang-ming Hsieh
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Hsieh, Cm. To Weight or not to Weight: The Role of Domain Importance in Quality of Life Measurement. Social Indicators Research 68, 163–174 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SOCI.0000025591.82518.ab

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SOCI.0000025591.82518.ab

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