Assessing the Accuracy and Reliability of Measurement

Question 1

How do you assess the accuracy of measurement?

Question 2

What do all procedures assessing the accuracy and reliability of behavioral measurement do?

Answer 2

measure the measurement system

Question 3

Why is accuracy of assessment important?

Answer 3

Inform treatment decisions, discovery/correction of measurement error, reveal consistent patterns of measurement error, assure consumers of accuracy.

Question 4

What is calibration?

Answer 4

Calibration entails
comparing the data produced by a measurement system to a known standard or true value.

Question 5

Why are true values difficult to establish sometimes?

Answer 5

must be different than the measurement procedure used to obtain the data one wishes to compare to the true value.

Question 6

What must be relied upon if true values cannot be established?

Answer 6

Reliability assessments and measures of interobserver agreement.

Question 7

How do we determine the accuracy of measurement?

Answer 7

a straightforward
process of calculating the correspondence of each measure, or
datum, assessed to its true value.

Question 8

What components should be included in repording accuracy assessments?

Answer 8

the number and percentage of measures that were checked for accuracy, the degree of
accuracy found, the extent of measurement error detected, and
whether those measurement errors were corrected in the data.

Question 9

What does assessing the reliability of behavioral measurement require?

Answer 9

Assessing the reliability of behavioral measurement
requires either a natural or contrived permanent product so the
observer can re-measure the same events