Methods for constructing composite indices: one for all or all for one?

As is known, the implementation of a composite index is a complex process that involves stages of work well defined, where the arbitrary choices of the researcher has a significant effect on the final results. The heated debate within the scientific Community, over the years, seems to converge towards the idea that there is not a composite index universally valid for all areas of application, and, therefore, its va-lidity depends on the strategic objectives of the research. In this paper we propose a scheme with some general guidelines to follow for summarizing a set of individual indicators. Beyond the procedure used, the compo-site indices provide an irreplaceable contribution to simplification; however, they are based on methods that flatten the basic information and they can lead to a my-opic reading of reality, especially if not sustained, upstream, from an adequate step of selection and interpretation of the individual indicators. Therefore, it is considered absolutely essential, in order to obtain valid and reli-able results, to support the process of choosing the set of the individual indicators with a theoretical framework that defines the social reality in each of its dimen-sions (Delvecchio, 1995).