The scale of a research literature proves nothing about its true value

Evidence

I am sure some researchers will protest this seemingly flippant disregard of a literature. I would simply say that literatures enormously bigger than that of the Intrinsic and Extrinsic Orientation Scales (e.g., the Fascism Scale’s, the Dogmatism Scale’s) have in the long run amounted to surprisingly little (Altemeyer, 1981, chap. 1; see also Chapter 8 in this book). So the size of a literature proves nothing about its ultimate worth. — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 4199

Categorization

• DEFINE: Articulates a methodological criterion: a measurement scale’s value requires construct validity, freedom from response sets, and convergent findings.