If they repeat the questionnaire days, weeks or months apart and give the same answers, this indicates high test-retest reliability.

The consistency of a measure across time: do you get the same results when you repeat the measurement?Ī group of participants complete a questionnaire designed to measure personality traits. Types of reliabilityĭifferent types of reliability can be estimated through various statistical methods. Methods of estimating reliability and validity are usually split up into different types.

Validity is harder to assess, but it can be estimated by comparing the results to other relevant data or theory. Reliability can be estimated by comparing different versions of the same measurement. How are reliability and validity assessed? This ensures that your discussion of the data and the conclusions you draw are also valid. To obtain useful results, the methods you use to collect data must be valid: the research must be measuring what it claims to measure. Validity is harder to assess than reliability, but it is even more important. This indicates that the method might have low validity: the test may be measuring participants’ reading comprehension instead of their working memory. The results are reliable, but participants’ scores correlate strongly with their level of reading comprehension. The extent to which the results really measure what they are supposed to measure.īy checking the consistency of results across time, across different observers, and across parts of the test itself.īy checking how well the results correspond to established theories and other measures of the same concept.Ī reliable measurement is not always valid: the results might be reproducible, but they’re not necessarily correct.Ī valid measurement is generally reliable: if a test produces accurate results, they should be reproducible.Ī group of participants take a test designed to measure working memory. The extent to which the results can be reproduced when the research is repeated under the same conditions. Failing to do so can lead to several types of research bias and seriously affect your work. It’s important to consider reliability and validity when you are creating your research design, planning your methods, and writing up your results, especially in quantitative research. Reliability is about the consistency of a measure, and validity is about the accuracy of a measure.opt They indicate how well a method, technique. Reliability and validity are concepts used to evaluate the quality of research. Validity in Research | Difference, Types and Examples Generate accurate APA, MLA, and Chicago citations for free with Scribbr's Citation Generator.

Reliability and validity examples