Development and Validation of Survey Questionnaire & Experimental Data

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering survey research steps, reliability measures, validity tests, and experimental data validation.

Empirical Research Method

A quantitative research methodology that involves developing a model to find relationships between variables, formulating and testing hypotheses to explain real-world phenomena, and using survey questionnaires for data collection.

Research Gap

The practical, conceptual, or experimental gap between the present existing solution and the ideal imagined solution to a research problem.

Determinant Issues

The primary issues of a problem related to a system under consideration, encompassing its major components and environment (e.g., operational, organizational, or administrative issues).

Construct

A model, idea, theory, or tool used to facilitate understanding of ideas, people, organizations, events, or objects, often evaluated using subscales of factors and elements.

Structured Questionnaire

A quantitative data collection instrument designed with specific, intended questions—typically multiple-choice closed-ended questions—to validate hypotheses or supplement data.

Unstructured Questionnaire

A qualitative data collection instrument that utilizes basic and branching open-ended questions to gather descriptive information.

Preliminary Pilot Test

An initial test administered to a small sample of respondents (typically 30 to 50 individuals) to identify item confusion, evaluate design feasibility, and refine questionnaire items before a large-scale test.

Questionnaire Reliability

The property of a questionnaire-based survey to produce stable, consistent, and reproducible results when administered under identical conditions.

Internal Consistency

A reliability measure of the inter-correlation among items in a multi-item questionnaire to ensure they consistently measure the same intended construct.

Cronbach's Alpha ($\alpha$)

A coefficient used to evaluate internal consistency, calculated from item variances and total variance, where values of at least $0.70$ indicate adequate reliability.

Test-Retest Reliability

A method of measuring questionnaire reliability by administering the exact same instrument to the same group of respondents at two different points in time.

Coefficient of Stability

The correlation coefficient (such as Pearson's $r$) obtained between scores from two administrations of the same questionnaire in test-retest reliability testing.

Inter-Rater Reliability

The degree of agreement or consistency among multiple independent raters evaluating the same group of respondents using a questionnaire or rating scale.

Kappa Statistic ($\kappa$)

A statistical measure ranging from $0$ to $1.0$ used to calculate inter-rater reliability by evaluating observed rater agreement after factoring out chance agreement.

Parallel Form Reliability

A reliability assessment method where two equivalent, interchangeable versions of a questionnaire (Forms A and B) containing differently formatted items are administered simultaneously.

Split-Half Reliability

A reliability test where items on a scale are split into two equal halves, and the correlation between the scores of both halves is calculated using the Spearman-Brown formula.

Questionnaire Validity

The extent to which a survey questionnaire accurately measures what it purports to measure and covers the actual area of investigation.

Face Validation

A process of judging a questionnaire linguistically and analytically to ensure readability, clarity, proper formatting, and relevance to the targeted population.

Content Validation

An evaluation conducted by an expert panel to determine whether questionnaire items adequately represent the entire theoretical construct of the problem model.

Content Validity Ratio (CVR)

A linear transformation calculated using Lawshe's method ($\text{CVR} = \frac{n_e - \left(\frac{N}{2}\right)}{\frac{N}{2}}$) to evaluate expert consensus on whether an item is essential.

Construct Validity

The degree to which scores on a questionnaire measure relate to other measures in a manner consistent with theoretically derived hypotheses.

Convergent Validity

A component of construct validity that assesses the degree to which two constructs that are theoretically expected to be related are in fact empirically related.

Discriminant Validity

A component of construct validity (also called divergent validity) referring to the extent to which a construct differs from other constructs and variables within the conceptual framework.

Criterion Validity

A validity assessment (also called concrete validity) that tests how well survey results predict performance, behavior, or outcomes in other past, present, or future situations.

Predictive Validity

A subtype of criterion validity evaluating the long-term ability of a questionnaire to accurately predict future health status, performance, or theoretical outcomes.

Concurrent Validity

A subtype of criterion validity that assesses the operational ability of an instrument to distinguish between theoretically distinct groups using an accepted standard.

Postdictive Validity

A subtype of criterion validity evaluated by comparing current test scores with the scores of established tests administered in the past.

Principal Component Analysis (PCA)

A factor analysis method used in survey validation to group correlated questions based on factor loadings (commonly accepted above $\pm 0.6$) to identify underlying dimensions.

Instrument Detection Limit

The lowest concentration or signal level that an analytical instrument can reliably distinguish from external random interference or blank solution signals.

Instrument Robustness

The degree to which an experimental measuring instrument functions correctly and maintains analytical accuracy in the presence of invalid inputs or stressful environmental conditions.