Reliability

Question 1

what is reliability

Answer 1

the ability to repeat a study and get the same results

Question 2

what are the TWO different types of reliability

Answer 2

internal reliability
external reliability

Question 3

what is internal reliability

Answer 3

this refers to how consistent something is within itself

e.g if 2 different tests are used they should be of the same difficulty/ or the questions in the questionnaire are about the same thing

Question 4

what is external reliability

Answer 4

this refers to the consistency across time or situations

e.g if the experiment is done again with the same participants in the same way, they should get the same results

Question 5

What are the 3 ways to check reliability

Answer 5

test-retest reliability
inter-rater reliability
split-half reliability

Question 6

what is test-retest reliability

Answer 6

repeating a test agin on the same patient to see if you get the same results

generally used for experiments

Question 7

what is inter-rater reliability

Answer 7

using different observers to rate the same behaviours to see if they give the same score

generally used for observations

Question 8

what is split half reliability

Answer 8

seeing if p.t scores in the first half of a test are the same in the second half

generally used in questionnaires

Question 9

how do we improve reliability

Answer 9

-clearly operationalise the variables to ensure accuracy
-train observers and give them clear definitions of categories prior to experiment – ensure inter rater reliability
-keep a detailed record of procedures (standardisation) so same procedure is followed each time