Reliability

Question 1

What is reliability?

Answer 1

It is a measure of consistency. If a particular measurement can be repeated then that measurement is described as being reliable.

Question 2

WAYS OF ASSESSING RELIABILITY
What is test-retest?

Answer 2

It is the method to assess the reliability of a questionnaire or interview by giving this to the same person on different occasions.
=> This shows to what extent the test produces the same answers (consistency or reliable)

Question 3

WAYS OF ASSESSING RELIABILITY
What is inter-observer reliability?

Answer 3

The extent to which there is an agreement between 2 or more observers of a behaviour since each of them has a different interpretation of events.

Question 4

How would one check if observers are applying behavioural categories in the same way?

Answer 4

run a pilot study of the observation

Question 5

IMPROVING RELIABILITY
How can a questionnaire with low test-retest reliability be improved?

Answer 5

Ambiguous questions should be ‘deselected’ or rewritten (e.g. replacing open questions which is ambiguous with closed ones)

Question 6

IMPROVING RELIABILITY
What are 3 ways to improve reliability of interviews?

Answer 6

• using one interviewer each time
• trained interviewer to not ask misleading/ambiguous questions
• structured interviews where interviewer is controlled by fixed questions

Question 7

IMPROVING RELIABILITY
How are lab experiments reliable?

Answer 7

• Because the researcher can have strict control over the procedure.
• Replication is possible

Question 8

IMPROVING RELIABILITY
How can observations’ reliability be improved?

Answer 8

Make sure that behavioural categories have been operationalised and that they are measurable and self-evident. Categories should not overlap (e.g. ‘hugging’ and ‘cuddling’).