Reliability Flashcards
What is reliability?
Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure. There are two subtypes: external and internal reliability.
Reliability is crucial for ensuring that a measure produces stable and consistent results across different conditions.
What is external reliability?
The extent to which a measure varies from one use to another.
External reliability indicates how stable the results are when the same measure is applied in different situations.
How can external reliability be assessed?
Through test-retest reliability and inter-observer reliability.
These methods help determine if a measure produces consistent results over time and across different observers.
What is test-retest reliability?
Testing the same participants using the same design and controls after a wait period.
A correlation of results should exceed +0.8 to indicate good reliability.
What is inter-observer reliability?
The extent to which two or more observers record data consistently.
A concordance rate of +0.8 or above indicates high inter-observer reliability.
What are some ways to improve reliability?
Control of variables, including:
* Participant variables
* Experimenter variables
* Situational variables
Ensuring consistency in these areas helps reduce variability in results.
What is internal reliability?
Whether a test is consistent within itself, such as all questions on an IQ inventory measuring IQ.
Internal reliability ensures that all parts of a measure assess the same construct.
How can internal reliability be assessed?
Using the split-half method, where data is split randomly in half and compared for similarity.
This method checks if results from different halves of the measure are consistent.
What is the split-half method?
A method where data collected is split randomly in half and compared to see if results are similar.
This method is commonly used to assess internal reliability.
What factors can affect the reliability of a measure?
Timing between tests, participant changes, and operational definitions of categories.
Variations in these factors can introduce bias into the results.
Fill in the blank: A concordance rate of _______ or above indicates high inter-observer reliability.
+0.8
This indicates that observers are recording data consistently.
True or False: A measure can be unreliable but still valid.
True
Validity refers to whether a measure assesses what it claims to measure, while reliability pertains to the consistency of results.
What should be ensured to improve inter-observer reliability?
Behavioral categories should be appropriately operationalized and observers should be trained.
Proper training and clear definitions help observers record data consistently.
Fill in the blank: If the duration between tests is too brief, participants may recall information from the _______.
first test
This could skew the results, affecting the measure’s reliability.
What does it mean if a test is described as ‘unreliable and invalid’?
The test does not consistently measure anything and does not measure what it claims to measure.
Such a test is ineffective for research or assessment purposes.
