*Why do we want to make the measurment? (Typically to look @ the relationship between two variables or examine one variable)

*What do we want to measure? (wide-band such as depression vs. narrow-band such as a particular aspect of depression such as sleep patterns or feelings while ignoring the rest of the aspects)

*Who will make the measurement? (Could be researcher, may be collateral - teacher, parent, doctor, caregiver, spouse, etc., or self-report)

*What format do we require? (Write-in, checklist, scale, etc. Also, uni-dimensional or multi-dimensional?)

*Where will the meaurements be made?(online, at someone's home, classroom, lab, office, etc.)

*When will the measurement be made?

What types of measuring instruments are there?

*Journals or diaries - writing it down as you go

*Logs - Like a journal but more structured; usually pre-made, fill-in-the blanks

*Inventories - writing it out

*Checklists - "I think _____" - researcher writes the list

*Summative Instruments - scale (Agree, Strongly Agree, etc.)

*The sample from which the data were drawn

*The validity of the instrument

*The reliability of the instrument

*The practicality of the instrument

-readily available and easy to access

-development work already done

-established reliability and validity estimates

-norms may be available for comparison

-most are easy to complete and score

-usually free of charge

-may be available in different languages

-specify age range and reading level

-time required for administration has been determined