RELIABILITY - DEFINITION

"Reliability refers to the purity and consistency of a measure, to repeatability, to the probability of obtaining the same results again if the measure were to be duplicated" (Oppenheim, 1992, p. 144).

Some other forms of reliability testing include the following: alternate forms, split-half, test-retest. DeVellis (1991, ch 3) deals with these fairly comprehensively.

Reference:

Oppenheim, A. N. (1992) Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Attitude Measurement: New Edition. London, Pinter.

DeVellis, R. F. (1991). Scale Development: Theory and Applications. London: SAGE.

Back to Which Test Home Page