Reliability and Validity Worksheet

1. Jenny creates a new scale to measure communication apprehension. She has a group of students answer questions on her new communication apprehension scale. Then, she calculates how well all of the scores on the scale items correlate with one another. Which technique for determining reliability did she use? Why?

1. Demetri administered a survey last month and another one this month using the same scale to measure beliefs about deception. Which technique for establishing reliability did he use? Why?

1. Amber had a group of students answer questions on a scale to measure nonverbal communication skills. She separated the scale questions into groups (odd numbered and even numbered). She compared the scores for the even numbered items with the scores for the odd numbered items. Which technique for establishing reliability did she use? Why?

1. In his study of communication in work groups, Dylan developed a scale to measure communication conflict. To choose items for his scale, he consulted experts in conflict resolution and group communication. The experts indicated how well the items on the scale fully encompassed all aspects of communication conflict. Which type of validity did Dylan attempt to establish? Why?

1. Part I: Renee wants to establish the reliability and validity of her measure for health information clarity. She observes doctors interacting with patients and codes their verbal/nonverbal communication based on her coding scheme. She has another researcher code the same interactions using the same coding scheme. Then, she compares the scores/coding that she comes up with to the scores/coding that the other researcher comes up with.

Which type of reliability is she attempting to establish? Why?

Part II: Based on her knowledge of information processing theories, Renee knows that the more clear the information is the more patients should be able to remember the information. So, she has patients answer questions about what their doctors told them in their appointments. She then compares patients' scores for doctor's health information clarity with the scores for recall (remembering) on the part of patients. There is not a relationship between health information clarity and health information recall.

1. Which type of validity did she try to establish? Why?
2. Did she succeed in validating her measure? Why?