I choo-choo-choose you: A tutorial on automated item selection in scale construction

Automated item selection procedures have become integral to contemporary scaleconstruction and shortening due to the increasing complexity of research questions, whichdemand shorter yet robust questionnaires. These questionnaires must meet various qualitycriteria beyond traditional reliability. Despite steady technical advancements and growing useof these methods, a comprehensive overview of current possibilities and generalrecommendations remains scarce. This step-by-step introduction demonstrates how toleverage automated item selection in scale construction using the R package stuart. Weoutline three critical decisions involved in the application of these procedures and providerecommendations for selecting the appropriate strategy, generating custom optimizationfunctions, and choosing quality control schemes. Additionally, we offer guidance onreporting results, accompanied by practical examples and R code.