Reliability/validity

Question 1

What is reliability?

Answer 1

• Is the measure consistent and stable?
• Implies that the same data would have been collected each time over repeated tests/ observations.
• Would a particular technique (or survey question) yield the same result each time?

Question 2

What is validity?

Answer 2

Internal validity: refers to the degree of confidence that the causal relationship being tested is trustworthy and not influenced by other factors or variables.
External validity: the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations, groups or events.

Question 3

Is your research reliable?

Answer 3

We tested the internal reliability with Crohnbach’s alpha and I think our measures are reliable

Question 4

Is your research valid?

Answer 4

I don’t think the research has internal validity since we cannot measure if the results have been influenced by other factors and the external validity is also questionable.

Question 5

How can reliability be improved?

Answer 5

1. Use enough questions to assess variables
2. Have a consistent environment for participants
3. Ensure participants are familiar with the assessment user interface (Qualtrics)
   a. Self-administered online survey (current)
   b. Interviewer-
   c. initiated self-administered questionnaires

Question 6

How can validity be improved?

Answer 6

Internal validity: More controlled settings (controlling for other variables)
External validity: larger sample size, probability sampling method (e.g. simple random probability sampling method)