The original 34-item questionnaire was reviewed by three expert consultants
and five experienced occupational therapists in order to determine if the
items adequately reflected the prescribed objectives of the instrument. This
process is consistent with the establishment of content validity and face validity,
as described by Benson and Clark (1982). All experts established that
all of the TOPS items reflected the instrument’s objectives. The wording of
two items (12, 23) were changed, rechecked and confirmed by two experts.
Following the content validation process, a secondary qualitative evaluation
process was performed. Three students who described themselves as
disorganised were asked to respond to the 34 questionnaire items. While
they were filling out the questionnaire, they were requested to indicate
whether the wording of the items was clear enough and were encouraged to
comment on any items as they saw fit. The three students reported that
most items were clear and that completion of the questionnaire required
only about 10 minutes. They also remarked that filling out the questionnaire
provided them with enhanced insight into the influence of being disorganised
and its potential effects on their everyday performance. Following their comments,
the wording of five items was improved.