Issues and debates in validity and reliability

Roger Watson

    Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperChapter

    Abstract

    The purpose of this chapter is to explore issues around the reliability and validity of measures used in health care; these measures could be clinical, educational or for research. Broadly speaking, this chapter is concerned with psychometrics and I will begin by exploring what psychometrics is about and why it applies directly to the issues of measurement in nursing. This is followed by a discussion of the concept of measurement and why it is fundamental to understanding psychometrics. Various definitions and types of reliability are discussed; in addition, methods used in research to ascertain the reliability and validity of instruments are also outlined. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of other approaches used in the testing of instruments, including sensitivity, specificity, receiver operating characteristics and item response theory.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationQuantitative Health Research: Issues and Methods
    EditorsElizabeth A. Curtis, Jonathan Drennan
    Place of PublicationU.S.A.
    PublisherOpen University Press
    Pages313-330
    Number of pages18
    ISBN (Print)9780335245734
    Publication statusPublished - 2013

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