List of terms

    Reliability

    Also available in: Arabic Chinese German Turkish List of terms ↓

    Definition

    The extent to which repeated measurements lead to the same results. In psychometrics, reliability refers to the extent to which respondents have similar scores when they take a questionnaire on multiple occasions. Noteworthy, reliability does not imply validity. Furthermore, additional types of reliability besides internal consistency exist, including: test-retest reliability, parallel forms reliability and interrater reliability.

    Related terms: Consistency, Internal consistency, Quality Criteria, Replicability, Reproducibility, Validity

    References:

    • Bollen, K. A. (1989). Structural Equations with Latent Variables (pp. 179–225). John Wiley & Sons.
    • Drost, E. A. (2011). Validity and reliability in social science research. Education Research and Perspectives, 38(1), 105–123.

    Originally drafted by: Annalise A. LaPlume

    Reviewed by: Mahmoud Elsherif, Eduardo Garcia-Garzon, Kai Krautter, Olmo van den Akker

    Suggest an improvement

    Spotted an error, a broken link, or think this entry is missing something? Let us know — this goes directly to the glossary team.