Community Assessment Scales: The State of the Art

Authors

John F. Else, University of Iowa
Samuel E. Walker, University of Nebraska, Omaha

Abstract

Community development activities are founded on the assumption that citizens have some concept of a "good community" toward which they want to move. Attention needs to be given to how community developers can determine citizen values and attitudes about the type of community that they want. Community assessment scales (CAS's) have been used as one means of measuring community attitudes and desires.

This paper explores the state of the art of the development and use of CAS's. The conclusions are that there has been only minimal use of CAS's and that there are many conceptual and methodological problems with the existing scales.

It is suggested that CAS's, if properly designed, could be useful and practical tools for community development.

Recommended Citation

Else, John F. and Walker, Samuel E. (1978) "Community Assessment Scales: The State of the Art," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 5: Iss. 3, Article 2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.1283
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol5/iss3/2