So, why do we care? Why make such a big deal about reliability? That instrument could be a scale, test, diagnostic tool as reliability applies to a wide range of devices and situations. Not only do you want your measurements to be accurate (i.e., valid), you want to get the same answer every time you use an instrument to measure a variable. Think of reliability as consistency or repeatability in measurements. Whenever a measurement has a potential for error, a key criterion for the soundness of that measurement is reliability. Some variables are straightforward to measure without error – blood pressure, number of arrests, whether someone knew a word in a second language.īut many – perhaps most – are not.
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