Martinez, Maria Regina J. OrCom 109.

2 (TFI)
2008-18861 Prof. Rafael Villar

INSTRUMENT VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY

I. Validity
• A true measure
• The ability of measurement procedures to produce empirical data consistent with the theoretical meaning
of the concept to be measured

Four Types of Measurement Validity

1. Face Validity
- Easiest type to achieve and most basic kind
of validity
- A scale is accepted as valid if it looks or
sounds valid to the researcher
- A judgement by the scientific community that
the indicator really measures the construct
- Uses some standard or criterion that is
known to indicate a construct accurately
- The validity of an indicator is verified by
comparing it with another measure of the
same construct in which a researcher has
confidence
- Two sub-types:

- Question answered: a. Concurrent

On the face of it, do people believe that the - An indicator must be associated with a

definition and method of measurement fit? pre-existing behavior just that is to be

judged to be valid

2. Content Validity b. Predictive

- Captures the entire meaning - An indicator predicts future events that

are logically related to a construct
- Measures should sample or represent all
ideas or areas in a conceptual space
4. Construct Validity
- Question answered:
- Multiple indicators are consistent
Is the full content of a definition represented
- Requires a definition with clearly specified
in a measure?
conceptual boundaries
- Three steps:
- Question answered:
1) Specify the content in a construct’s
If the measurement is valid, do the various
definition
indicators operate in a consistent manner?
2) Sample from all areas of the definition
- Two sub-types:
3) Develop an indicator that taps all of the
a. Convergent
various parts of the definition
- “Alike ones are similar”

3. Criterion Validity - Multiple measures of the same

- Agrees with an external source construct hang together or operate in
similar ways
 b. Discriminant (divergent) - Indicators of one construct hang
- “Different ones differ” together or converge, but also diverge
or are negatively associated with
opposing constructs

II. Reliability
• It is a dependable measure
• Response is similar and predictable in different times and conditions
• The method of conducting a study or the results from it can be reproduced or replicated by other
researchers
• Stability and internal consistency

Four Types of Reliability

1. Inter-Rater or Inter-Observer Reliability
- Assesses the degree to which different
observers give consistent estimates of the
same phenomenon
2. Test-Retest Reliability
- Measures the consistency of a measure from
one time to another
3. Parallel-Forms Reliability
- Considers the consistency of the results of
two tests constructed in the same way from
the same content domain
4. Internal Consistency Reliability
- Calculates the consistency of results across
items within a test

III. Relationship Between Validity and Reliability

• Reliability is necessary for and easier to achieve than validity, although not a guarantee that a measure will
be valid
• A measure can be reliable but invalid
• Usually complementary concepts, but sometimes conflict with each other
• Sometimes as validity increases, reliability is more difficult to attain (vice versa)
• Reliability is easiest to achieve when measure is precise and observable

*Sources are stated on the

cut-and-paste.
**Tables and examples will be discussed in class.