The development and validation of an empirical scale to inform community diagnostics and change

• Published in: The journal of agricultural education and extension 2021-05, Vol.27 (3), p.287-306
• Main Authors: Lamm, Kevan W., Borron, Abigail, Atkins, D. Keith
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attitude Measures; Community; Community Attitudes; community capital framework; Community Change; Community Characteristics; Community development; Community Relations; Cultural Capital; Design; diagnostics; Empirical analysis; Human Capital; Measuring instruments; natural capital; Program Development; scale; Social Capital; Social impact; Test Construction; Test Reliability; Test Validity
• ISSN: 1389-224X; 1750-8622
• DOI: 10.1080/1389224X.2020.1851270

The purpose of this research was to develop and validate a robust scale, based on the community capital framework, to provide an empirical measure of community perceptions. The proposed measure was completed by a sample of Georgia citizens (n = 3374) representing a diverse cross-section of community characteristics. Data indicate that the six proposed scales (natural, social, human, cultural, built-financial, and political) subsumed within the instrument measure unique underlying latent variables with evidence of internal validity through multiple analytic techniques. This study represents an initial examination of a quantitative instrument - the Community Diagnostics + Social Impact (CD + SI) Toolkit TM - that can be used by researchers, educators, and community development professionals to measure the stocks of the various capitals within a community. The theoretical implications of this study are that the CD + SI Toolkit TM holds promise as a valid and reliable instrument for establishing holistic community profiles, identifying targeted areas for in-depth research inquiry or programmatic design, guiding policy design and implementation, and ultimately evaluating the impacts of community development programs and policies. The CD + SI Toolkit TM addresses an omission in the literature and in broader community development. While various frameworks such as the CCF exist to provide a more general blueprint for program development and assessment, the CD + SI Toolkit TM represents an effort to specifically quantify the community capitals and establish a replicative process for measuring community capitals. The results of this initial validation effort demonstrate the potential for such a tool.