Reliability

What is reliability?

consistency of measurement

What are the two ways we can assess reliability?

Test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability

What is the test-retest method commonly applied to?

Interviews, questionnaires, and psychological tests

How is the test-retest method carried out?

The test is administered twice and the results are compared, if scores are obtained a correlation efficient can be calculated

How is inter-rater reliability carried out?

Involves checking the consistency of ratings that two or more independent researchers have completed. The two observers will apply the behavioural categories to a test run and the consistency of results will be assessed

How can we improve reliability in questionnaires that are found to be unreliable?

- leading or ambiguous questions may be removed

- replacing open-ended questions with closed ones with a more restricted range of responses

How can reliability be improved in interviews that are found to be unreliable?

by using the same interviewer with all pps or training them in the same way

How can reliability be improved in experiments that are found to be unreliable?

ensure that standardised instructions and procedures are used

How can observation reliability be improved?

by careful operationalisation and explanation of the behavioural categories