Reliability in research is crucial and required if our research findings are to be accepted. What is meant by “reliability”? State the three ways a researcher may test for reliability. Discuss in detail one type of reliability.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Ans: Reliability refers to the consistency in our measurement. It refers to being able to yield the same results even if used with different subjects, different populations, and/or different settings. Responses must indicate inter-observer or inter-rater reliability, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency reliability. In the case of inter-observer or inter-rater reliability, there is more than one researcher present during data collection. All the observers, or raters, keep separate ratings of the data and then compare responses to determine a degree of consistency. This procedure may be used in various types of studies. Test-retest reliability ensures that our data collection tool consistently yields the same results regardless of the passing of time. This means that data are collected at one point in time and are collected again at a later point in time. Often the test-retest reliability is conducted using the same group of participants when stability over time or the setting of data collection may have influenced the reliability of the study. Internal consistency reliability is when researchers include a few questions that measure exactly the same variable on an instrument. All the additional questions measure the same thing as a scale that may be used. The researcher is then able to see if responses remain constant or vary. The degree to which the questions are constant also indicates that a questionnaire has high internal consistency reliability.