Hi! There was already a question about the sum or average of scores (https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_the_justification_is_for_using_a_sum_score_instead_of_an_average), but I was wondering what I should do for my specific case.

I'm currently conducting some research for the AP Research course, for which I am measuring participants' loneliness, anxiety, and preference for authoritarian values. I've standardized every survey into a 9-point scale with only endpoints labeled, but the trouble is that some of the original questionnaires (R-UCLA Loneliness) ask for sum scores while others (Zakrisson's shortened RWA) ask for averages.

Given that summing and averaging can lead to different interpretations and the mechanics of loneliness and authoritarianism may differ (emotion vs. ideological preference), should I mix and match summing and averaging depending on the original scale's instructions? Or would it be better to standardize a sum or average, and if so, which one would work best?

Any thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance :)