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Gepubliceerd in: Quality of Life Research 4/2015

01-04-2015 | Brief Communication

Measuring quality of life with fuzzy numbers: in the perspectives of reliability, validity, measurement invariance, and feasibility

Auteurs: Po-Yi Chen, Grace Yao

Gepubliceerd in: Quality of Life Research | Uitgave 4/2015

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Abstract

Purpose

Fuzzy set theory (FST) can improve various aspects of measurement with questionnaires. However, very little is known about how to use FST to measure quality of life (QOL). The main purpose of our study was to find an appropriate fuzzy measure for QOL that, while demonstrating the advantages of FST, can also be compared with mainstream QOL measures, most of which use traditional Likert-type scales.

Methods

Referring to the literature on fuzzy scoring methods, we first revised the measurement scale and scoring method of the traditional WHOQOL-BREF (i.e., a five-point Likert-type scale) to create three versions of a fuzzy WHOQOL-BREF. Then, we examined the psychometric relationships of these three fuzzy measures and the traditional WHOQOL-BREF in a within-subject design.

Results

Our results show that a fuzzy-scales weighted-by-membership (FSWM) version of the WHOQOL-BREF is comparable to the traditional WHOQOL-BREF in that it accepts strong invariance and shows almost perfect agreement. It also demonstrates higher reliability and face validity than the traditional WHOQOL-BREF.

Conclusion

We recommend that future studies examine the use of FSWM to measure QOL.
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Metagegevens
Titel
Measuring quality of life with fuzzy numbers: in the perspectives of reliability, validity, measurement invariance, and feasibility
Auteurs
Po-Yi Chen
Grace Yao
Publicatiedatum
01-04-2015
Uitgeverij
Springer International Publishing
Gepubliceerd in
Quality of Life Research / Uitgave 4/2015
Print ISSN: 0962-9343
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-2649
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-014-0816-3

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