ABSTRACT

Purpose

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.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed measure was completed by a sample of Georgia citizens (n = 3374) representing a diverse cross-section of community characteristics.

Findings

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.

Practical implications

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.

Theoretical implications

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.

Originality/value

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.

中文翻译：

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为社区诊断和变化提供信息的经验量表的开发和验证

摘要

目的

本研究的目的是开发和验证一个基于社区资本框架的稳健量表，以提供社区感知的实证衡量标准。

设计/方法/方法

提议的措施是由 代表不同社区特征的佐治亚州公民样本 ( n = 3374)完成的。

发现

数据表明，包含在该工具中的六个提议的量表（自然、社会、人类、文化、建筑金融和政治）通过多种分析技术测量独特的潜在潜在变量，并具有内部有效性的证据。

实际影响

本研究代表了对定量工具——社区诊断 + 社会影响 (CD + SI) 工具包^TM的初步检验——研究人员、教育工作者和社区发展专业人士可以使用它来衡量社区内各种资本的存量。

理论意义

本研究的理论意义在于，CD + SI Toolkit ^TM有望成为建立整体社区概况、确定深入研究调查或计划设计的目标领域、指导政策设计和实施以及最终评估的有效和可靠的工具。社区发展计划和政策的影响。CD + SI Toolkit ^TM解决了文献和更广泛的社区发展中的遗漏。

原创性/价值

虽然 CCF 等各种框架为项目开发和评估提供了更通用的蓝图，但 CD + SI 工具包^TM代表了一种专门量化社区资本并建立衡量社区资本的复制过程的努力。这一初步验证工作的结果证明了这种工具的潜力。