Reliability (statistics)

Reliability in statistics refers to the consistency of a set of measurements or measuring instrument, often used to describe a test. This concept is related to the fields of psychometrics, measurement theory, and quantitative research.

Pronunciation

Reliability: /rɪˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪti/

Etymology

The term "reliability" originates from the Latin word "reliabilis", which means "something that can be relied upon".

Definition

In statistics, reliability is the overall consistency of a measure. A measure is said to have a high reliability if it produces similar results under consistent conditions. It is important to note that reliability does not imply validity. That is, a reliable measure that is measuring something consistently is not necessarily measuring what it is intended to measure.

Types of Reliability

There are several types of reliability, including:

Test-retest reliability: This refers to the stability of a test over time. A test has test-retest reliability if it measures the same thing consistently on different occasions.

Parallel forms reliability: This refers to the equivalence of different forms of the same test. A test has parallel forms reliability if different versions of the test produce similar results.

Internal consistency reliability: This refers to the consistency of results across items within a test. A test has internal consistency reliability if all items measure the same construct and produce similar scores.

Related Terms

Validity: This refers to the extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure. It is possible for a test to be reliable, but not valid.

Measurement error: This refers to the difference between the observed value and the true value. Measurement error can affect the reliability of a test.

Coefficient alpha: This is a measure of internal consistency reliability. It is often used in psychometrics to estimate the reliability of a test.

External links

Medical encyclopedia article on Reliability (statistics)
Wikipedia's article - Reliability (statistics)

This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.

Languages: - East Asian 中文, 日本, 한국어, South Asian हिन्दी, Urdu, বাংলা, తెలుగు, தமிழ், ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, မြန်မာဘာသာ, European español, Deutsch, français, русский, português do Brasil, Italian, polski

Reliability (statistics)