reliability and validity

Question 1

what does it mean by reliability?

Answer 1

• the consistency of diagnosis

Question 2

what is test-retest reliability?

Answer 2

• is the same doctor giving the same diagnosis over time with the same symptoms

Question 3

what happens to the patient if schizophrenia is diagnosed inconsistently?

Answer 3

• they may be incorrectly labelled as schizophrenic
• not diagnosed = they wont receive the treatment they need

Question 4

what does it mean by validity?

Answer 4

The extent to which the classification of ‘schizophrenia’ is a true reflection of the illness the patient is suffering from.
- does it measure what it intends to measure

Question 5

what is criterion validity?

Answer 5

the extent to which using different classification systems produces the same diagnosis in the same patient
- If there are differences here, then it suggests there is a lack of agreement over what schizophrenia actually is

Question 6

what is inter-rater reliability?

Answer 6

is the measure of how 2 observers agree
e.g. 2 doctors giving the same diagnosis