How to Write the Instruments (Measures) Section of the Method Chapter: Template and Example

How to describe instruments and questionnaires in the method chapter - developer, number of items, response scale, example item, scoring, reverse-scored items, reliability (Cronbach's alpha) and validity, Hebrew translation and the demographic questionnaire - with a template and a full example.

Part of the series: How to write the method chapter of an empirical paper

The instruments (or "measures") section describes everything you used to measure a variable: questionnaires, tests, computer tasks, physiological measures or record data. The goal: a reader understands exactly what the number in a table represents, and another researcher could use the same instrument.

What to write for each questionnaire

1. The instrument's name and who developed it, with a citation.
2. What it measures - the variable, and its subscales if any.
3. Number of items and the response scale - e.g. 1 = "strongly disagree" to 5 = "strongly agree".
4. An example item - in quotation marks.
5. Scoring - mean or sum, reverse-scored items, and what a high score means.
6. Reliability and validity - in the original study, and in the current study.
7. Language version - who translated it, and whether back-translation was used.

Template

[Variable name]. [Variable] was measured with the [questionnaire name] ([author, year]), [Hebrew version by... / translated into Hebrew for this study]. It has [k] items [across x subscales: ...]. Participants rated [...] on a [x]-point scale from 1 ([...]) to [x] ([...]). An example item is "[...]". [Items x and y are reverse-scored.] Scores were computed as the [mean/sum] of the items, with higher scores indicating [...]. Reliability in the original study was [...]; in the current study α = [..].

Example

Self-esteem. Self-esteem was measured with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965), in its Hebrew version. The scale has 10 items, rated on a 4-point scale from 1 ("strongly disagree") to 4 ("strongly agree"). An example item is "On the whole, I am satisfied with myself." Five items are negatively worded and were reverse-scored. Scores were computed as the mean of the items, with higher scores indicating higher self-esteem. Internal consistency in the current study was high (α = .87).

(The reliability value is illustrative.)

Reliability: what to report

• Cronbach's alpha for each scale and subscale, in your sample. Values of .70 and above are usually considered adequate.
• Low alpha? Don't hide it - see What to do when Cronbach's alpha is low.
• A 2–3-item scale: alpha tends to be low; you can report the mean inter-item correlation.
• An instrument built for the study: describe how (literature, expert review, pilot), and in larger studies a factor analysis.

Instruments that aren't questionnaires

• Computer task: software, number of trials, stimulus duration, what was measured (reaction time, accuracy).
• Experimental manipulation: exactly what each group received, and how you checked it worked (manipulation check).
• Record data: where it came from (e.g. grades from the registrar) and in what format.

The demographic questionnaire

One sentence is enough: "A demographic questionnaire built for this study asked about age, gender, year of study and [...]." Its results are reported in the participants section.

Writing rules

• A subheading per variable, not per questionnaire - so the reader instantly finds how a variable from the hypotheses was measured.
• The same order as the hypotheses.
• Full questionnaires go in the appendices - unless they're copyrighted.

Common mistakes

• Only the original study's reliability - the marker wants your sample.
• Not saying what a high score means - especially with reverse-scored items.
• A variable named differently in the measures and the hypotheses.
• A response scale without anchors - "a 1–5 scale" without saying what 1 and 5 mean.

FAQ

How is alpha reported in APA? Without a leading zero: α = .87.

Do I need validity too? If the literature reports the instrument's validity - one sentence with a citation. If you built the instrument - describe how validity was checked.

What else is in the method chapter? Participants, procedure and data analysis - see How to write the method chapter.

Unsure how to compute scores and reliability? That's part of the analysis we guide. Tell us about your questionnaires.

Source

• Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton University Press.

Last updated: 2026-10-01