Relialbiltty And Validity Essay

Reliability and Validity
Sheila Clark
University Of Phoenix
Research and Statistics
BSHS/382
Dr. McCoy
November 10, 2010


Reliability and Validity
Reliability and validity are an important and useful aspect of human services research.
In completing research there are many types of reliability and validity that come into play. This paper will define and describe types of reliability and validity and give examples of each as how they are related to human services. Data collection methods and instruments will be discussed and why methods and instruments are important and reliable.
Reliability is an important aspect of human services research and includes four types, alternate-form, internal-consistency, item-to-item, and test-retest. Alternate- form reliability uses words to make a difference. Alternate- form uses wording from a previous test to make a second test.   An example of alternate – form would be giving clients a test and then in a week’s time giving the same test with the wording change. The test could cover things such as how the individual perceived group therapy. Internal-consistency reliability is a variation of measurements taken by different people but with the same methods. It tells of how separate items hang together (Rosnow & Rosenthal, 2008). An example would be if a subject were tested on a trait each time the test was given the results could be the same.   The next form of reliability is item- to- item. Reliability incorporates comparing a single item with another item. An organization could compare a specific item with another to make improvements. For example, using a therapy session and work experience could help the organization understand stress. The last of validity is test-retest that is the degree of temporal stability of a measuring instrument. The test of reliability on one item using the average gathered from tests (Rosnow & Rosenthal, 2008).
Validity is the most important criteria in research and shows how well the...