RELIABILITY & VALIDITY

(with Tony Little)

This is a joke.

RELIABILITY

Reliability deals with the consistency of measurement in research. Reliability is the quality that guarantees us that we will get similar results when conducting the same test on the same population every time. Consider this ruler

RELIABILITY
Now compare this ruler

With this one

RELIABILITY
Each ruler will give the same answer each time

But this one will be wrong each time

RELIABILITY
Each ruler is reliable

But reliability doesnt mean much when it is wrong

RELIABILITY
So, not only do we require reliability

We also need

VALIDITY

Good Ruler

Bad Ruler

VALIDITY

Validity deals with the accuracy of the measurement

VALIDITY

Internal Validity questions if we are measuring what we think we are measuring.

I am trying to determine if my Capstone students are learning the value of service to the community, so I give a survey at the end of the semester asking if they think will continue community service after they graduate. They all say they will. Whaddaya think? I want to know if research students fudge data to make sure there research findings turn out the way the want them to. So I ask each person if they tampered with the data and they all said, no. Valid test?

VALIDITY

External Validity questions questions if we can generalize our results to a larger population.

I find that students at Belmont have a higher average score in math than those in the University of Southern Indiana. Do you think we could improve USIs math scores by having Belmonts professors teach them? If Italians tend to have a lower incidence of heart attacks than Americans, would we expect Americans to decrease their heart attacks if they followed an Italian diet.

VALIDITY

Internal Validity: are we testing what we think we are. External Validity: can generalize our results to a larger or different population. There are other types of validity that focus on specific concerns researchers have concerning possible errors of accuracy in their studies. The subject teeters on the edge of philosophical debate about just how large a threat these other concerns are. It is important, but subject for more in-depth study.

RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY

The Bottom Line:

We need both reliability and validity in research to insure that we have consistent, accurate answers to our research questions. Research must reflect reality and without reliable, valid data (which is interpreted correctly and consistently) research is meaningless.

VALIDITY
(Still just a joke)

RELIABILITY

The End