Art and Science of Instrument Development for Stated-Preference Methods

Excerpt

Ryden et al. [1] contribute to a growing literature on instrument development as it pertains specifically to stated-preference methods. In their article “Discrete choice experiment attribute selection using a multinational interview study: treatment features important to patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus”, they describe how they used both literature reviews and qualitative methods to inform the development of a discrete-choice experiment. Such articles have received more attention as researchers seek to be more transparent on the development of their studies [2‐4]. Guidance by the US Food and Drug Administration has emphasized the need for patient-preference studies to be patient centered, relevant, and understandable with limited bias in the interpretation of choice tasks [5]. These types of study qualities can only be ensured through deliberate instrument development. …