Reliability is important within Psychology in order for findings to be considered accurate and valid. Many factors can influence your results at different points in time: for example, respondents might experience different moods, or external conditions might affect their ability to respond accurately. This allowed the study to be used to develop further research in this field. When doing research it is always important to focus on reliability and validity to ensure that your findings are valid and reliable. I dig this. The If this does happen, it can often make a person worse or even develop the disorder, when they never had it in the first place. I encounter a blog that’s equally educative and amusing, and The results of a research study are reliable if, when the study is replicated, the same results are consistently found. Validity ensures that an experiment can be generalised (external validity) and that it measures what it sets out to measure. For example, psychodynamic theories such as the ideas of Sigmund Freud are difficult to test for reliability because they are often case studies and other forms of qualitative data. This isn’t to say that methods for the classification and diagnosis of depression are bad, because without them it would be impossible to know what to look for and how to recognise a depressed individual. Rarely do 4 Tips That Will Help You Choose The Right Data Centre Provider | TechnoStuffs - The Technology Stuffs, Reliability in Research – Useful Information. In other words, if the findings of a test or study prove time and again to be the same, or close to the same, they are considered reliable. What is test re-test reliability? technologies after that he must be pay a visit this site and be up to date daily. This shows how reliability can have an impact on the acceptance of a study. The split-half method assesses the internal consistency of a test, such as psychometric tests and questionnaires. Be aware: The results of an investigation may be reliable, but that does not … Continue reading Reliability There, it measures the extent to which all parts of the test contribute equally to what is being measured. Reliability is the extent to which a measure gives consistent results. Based on his studies the 11+ tests were introduced to school and had an impact on the education policy for many years. In response to Rory’s comment: thanks for the helpful feedback concerning where I was going with this blog post! No credit would be given to any data from an experiment if the validity of the results was not attempted to be reached at the best ability of the research team. They can greatly effect research and make it worthless. ( Log Out / Reliability is the ability to replicate a study and get similar results. This is a specific type of reliability which, in this case, looks at whether two people would come to the same conclusion about an individual. In the context of psychological research, this would mean that any instruments or tools used to collect data do so in consistent, reproducible ways. is consistent. It is important since not all individuals will perceive and interpret the answers in the same way, hence the deemed accurateness of the answers will vary according to the person evaluating them. In terms of depression as you have discussed I do believe that although it it very important for the diagnosis of depression to be consistent between both cases and the psychologists/psychiatrists diagnosing them. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. appropriately measure the construct or domain in question), and that they could also reliably replicate the result more than once in the same situation and population. This type of reliability assumes that there will be no change in th… Reliability refers to the ability to consistently produce a given result. I guess I should start off with the definition of reliability concerning studies within psychology. I agree with you when you say that reliability is important because without reliability and being able to see consistencies in results we would not be able to generate practical applications so Psychological research if no practical applications are generated would surely be pointless? It is highly unlikely that both patients would be sharing the same experiences. It is clear from the example of the classification and diagnosis of depression that reliability and validity are crucial in psychology. Now i’m very happy that I stumbled across this in my Correlation is very important in the field of Psychology and Education as a measure of relationship between test scores and other measures of performance. A study is considered to be reliable if it produces the same results repeatedly. The answer is that they conduct research using the measure to confirm that the scores make sense based on their understanding of th… Reliability is a measure of whether something stays the same, i.e. Reliability and validity are important factors of psychological research studies. Think of reliability as consistency or repeatability in measurements. This shows how inter-rater reliability isn’t always present and shows that even today there are problems with this due to stereotyping, i.e. For example, Cyril Burt conducted a study in which he fabricated the results in order to support his theory that intelligence is genetic. Also, the reliability of this study extends worldwide and has become an accepted methodology worldwide. a lot of it is popping it up all over the web without If some one desires to be updated with most up-to-date I think you’re right, I was just concerned with making sure it was research methods related. For example Milgram’s study is both internally and externally reliable because MIlgrams methodology can be repeated because of its high controls and standardised experiment (internal reliability) and Milgram himself has repeated his results on other people from other cultures and societies, giving the study external reliability. Inter-rater reliability measures the consistency of results obtained. ( Log Out / An example often used for reliability and validity is that of weighing oneself on a scale. In my opinion many aspects of investigating in psychology comes from a place of wanting to appear credible hence the emulation of science. They can however be misused or be inaccurate in certain cases. So, I feel that reliability is an important aspect of Psychology and Science and if misused it can have serious effects on society as a whole. They help to ensure that an experiment is credible and can be used in Psychology. There are several ways of testing the reliability of psychological research. Start studying Psychology - Validity, Reliability, Standardisation and Norms. Do you have any other ones you can put? I’m impressed, I have to admit. Why it’s important. Ok so I did some research as to why reliability is important within the field of psychology, mainly I got loads of definitions with regards to reliability so I came up with my own ideas. Reliability indicates measurement precision, reflected in producing similar measurements on multiple occasions. The results of psychological investigations are said to be reliable if they are similar each time they are carried out using the same design, procedures and measurements. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. However, not all research is reliable. Child development: Is breast-feeding really that important? Your email address will not be published. Why is reliability important?? either written myself or outsourced but it looks like Reliability is about the consistency of a measure, and validity is about the accuracy of a measure. Required fields are marked *. The diagnosis of depression has problems with validity because it can’t necessarily be generalised to every culture. , Pingback: Reliability in Research – Useful Information. I agree with the general importance of reliability. Reliablity and validity are both extrememly important within psychology, especially when diagnosing mental illnesses. Before I can go over the reasons why I believe that reliability is important, I think that it is important to go over what reliability actually means: If the two halves of t… Do you know any solutions to help reduce content from being stolen? no te conocía a partir de ahora. A person’s symptoms are easily open to interpretation by a professional which can be a problem when diagnosing depression, because it may lead to serious misdiagnosis of an individual. Reliability is important to make sure something can be replicated and that the findings will be the same if the experiment was done again. females are more likely to be depressed. Reliability is important in the design of assessments because no assessment is truly perfect. Not only can the conclusions of a professional provide a problem, but the information given by a patient can also pose a risk with reliability. Either from a person’s responses are consistent, or the general results are consistent. A test can be split in half in several ways, e.g. Whenever a measurement has a potential for error, a key criterion for the soundness of that measurement is reliability. Reply. Test-retest reliability is best used for things that are stable over time, such as intelligence. However, depression is a label we give to a very broad range of symptoms that can effect people in very different ways. A culture where emotion is frowned upon may see an individual from a more emotional culture as depressed when they are not. Yet, Freud has been influential in Psychology and his ideas are widely accepted which triggers the question of how important reliability is. But, why is reliability important? Surley some aspects of psychology like depression and mentl health would favour a more individual approach to investiagtions ie: assessing cases based on and to help the individual? Reliability and validity are two important considerations that must be made with any type of data collection. Wow, that’s what I was searching for, what a data! This means that it is important that people test for reliability when conducting any form of research. present here at this website, thanks admin of this website. Test-retest reliability is a measure of the consistency of a psychological test or assessment. Measurement is an important part of the scientific process. The older I get the more I realize nobody has all the answers. Gracias por invitarme a escribir me ha encantado con tu artículo Therefore I believe it is very important to assess each case as an individual and although past cases should be drawn upon when diagnosing, one should not assume that the current case would be the same as previous ones. Reliability is important in Psychology as it helps a Psychologist find out whether the study has tested what it set out to test. Thanks for your comment :)! The current discussion in psychology about the validity of research practices was sparked in 2011 by revelations that several prominent social psychologists fabricated their data. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Mistakes can ruin individual’s lives as problems arise with diagnoses such as labelling, hospitalising and medication. It is more common for a woman to be diagnosed with depression if seen by a male clinician, than if she saw a female or if a male saw either clincian. I think both types of reliability are important to psychology and it can help to improve the quality of the research if both internal and external reliability can be achieved. (not really sure that this is relevant to the reliability/validity side of your blog but still though it was worth mentioning!). Sub-cultures like gender provide the same problem. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. To assume that one persons depression is the same as another is a very risky practice. Reliability and validity are both very important in psychology. what you’re speaking about! Filed under: Psychology - Research Skills and Methods — 4 Comments. Therefore, these theories lack reliability. Also, I’ve shared your site in my social networks. This replication involves repeating a research study under exactly the SAME CONDITIONS, using exactly the SAME PARTICIPANTS. I agree with you in that reliability and validity are both very important in all aspects of psychology. You make lots of good points about the issues with the diagnosis of depression which I found very interesting to read so that could have been your central talking point. Test-retest reliability can be used to … Information from patients is often unreliable due to problems with embarrassment, wanting to be likeable and so on. A common problem related to this is the issue of culture. 1 Psychological assessment is an important part of both experimental research and clinical treatment. This could mean that a man who is depressed may be misdiagnosed simply because he doesn’t really show how he feels. This kind of reliability is used to determine the consistency of a test across time. Reliability is highly important for psychological research. This is especially important in clinical psychology when diagnosing patients because they are relying on the clinician to make a correct diagnosis. to its feature contents. hunt for something regarding this. The key aspects concerning the quality of scientific measures are reliability and validity. Research has shown that men and women react to situations differently and that women tend to show more emotion. Because the admin of this website is working, no hesitation very soon it will be well-known, due I think I agree with you but I often find myself questioning whether or not reliabilty and validity would be such a big deal in psychology if the subject didnt strive so much to emulate science. Therefore, in order for research to be considered reliable it should produce the same (or similar) results if repeated. On the whole professionals dealing with patients are good at diagnosing patients well, but there are obviously some who are not as accurate in their diagnosis. Because of the subject matter studies and heavy involvement of people in psychological investigaton it seems unlikely to me that such a high preference would be placed naturally on being able to generalise reuslts. With the help of correlation, it is possible to have a correct idea of the working capacity of a person. The present goal is to be specific about the role that reliability plays with respect to validity. my authorization. Kindly additionally talk over with my site =). Suspicions arose about Burt’s work and it was found that his results were fabricated and therefore unreliable. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Pingback: 4 Tips That Will Help You Choose The Right Data Centre Provider | TechnoStuffs - The Technology Stuffs. Reliability can be split into two main branches: internal and external reliability. t measures the consistency of the scoring conducted by the evaluators of the test. I’d truly appreciate it. Although clinical researchers know that it is important to have valid measures, there is insufficient understanding of the role that reliability plays in correlative validity-the extent to which variables are capable of correlating with each other. Those observing patients can often rely too much on a person’s medical history than what is right in front of them. For example, let’s say you take a cognitive ability test and receive 65 th percentile on the test. If a study is reliable it can have positive implications for other areas of psychology and could be used to improve/aid issues. A person might not necessarily say the same thing to two different professionals about their symptoms and this can again lead to misdiagnosis. Think of it this way, if you are weighing something on different scales, you would expect to get essentially the same results every time. Soon after this, attention was drawn to several failures to replicate important findings in the area of social cognition. Many are victims of laziness, time pressure and subjectivity – they are after all only human. Reliability addresses the overall consistency of a research study's measure. first half and second half, or by odd and even numbers. As a psychologist’s job is to make their experiment as reliable and as valid as possible, I agree that the two are the most vital goals to reach when a conclusion is made. Validity ensures that an experiment can be… If reliability is misused it can have serious negative consequences. I really like this blog and it raises some valid points. That way, people can test, replicate, generalise and develop your hard work. Reliability is the extent to which a test is repeatable and yields consistant scores.Plus, in order to be valid, a test must be reliable; but reliability does not guarantee validity. However, where possible it is important to test for reliability as this will improve the standard of the research and determine whether the results could be used to conduct further research. Again, measurement involves assigning scores to individuals so that they represent some characteristic of the individuals. So, why is reliability important? At the same time that these fraud and replication issues became prominent, researchers began identifying problems with widely used methodological and statistical practices that might undermine the validity of research findin… Your email address will not be published. It’s true that data would not be credited without reliability/validity, which I think in some cases is a shame, because, as in cases such as diagnosing depression, it can sometimes sway researchers away from the aim of their studies. Reliability: Reliability means consistency. But another related, equally important concept is what is referred to as the “reliability” of a test. The term reliability, when it refers to psychological research, is focused on the consistency of a research study or measuring test. I feel that in certain situations it is difficult to test for reliability. Super post. Reliability definition psychology refers to the ability of a research study or test to provide the same results after being performed on more than one occasion. Bookmarked. Is having increased reliability a strength, as it offers support, as it Suggests what the original research is saying is true/correct/accurate as others have found the same. The results of each weighing may be consistent, but the scale itself may be off a few pounds. They help to ensure that an experiment is credible and can be used in Psychology. In order to ensure that all patients are diagnosed correctly, all clinicans need to have a clear idea based on reliable and valid evidence. But how do researchers know that the scores actually represent the characteristic, especially when it is a construct like intelligence, self-esteem, depression, or working memory capacity? Presuming that everyone can be assessed using a single set of diagnoses is definitely a risk in my opinion , so those who mentioned it make a good point. Therefore, it is an important step to yield so that results are valid (and measure what they intend to measure). When a person is labelled as depressed, they very rarely ever manage to remove the “depressed” label. Inter-rater Reliability. A test produces an estimate of a student’s “true” score, or the score the student would receive if given a perfect test; however, due to imperfect design, tests can rarely, if ever, wholly capture that score. Witth havin so much content do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright violation? This is done by comparing the results of one half of a test with the results from the other half. If your scale gives you a reasonably consistent reading every time you step on it, it is reliable. Are Psychologists too optimistic in the ability to generalise humans? Buy/Sell your Perfect money Unit & Bitcoin at 247xchanger Website: http://www.247xchanger.comWhatsapp us: 07069239529BBM: 762C119BSkype: 247xchangerICQ: 658952962Office location:Shop 4, First Floor,J&S Complex, Behind Maksoft Computer.Alegongo, Akobo-IbadanWe are online 24/7Best rate assured. This is because it tests if the study fulfills its predicted aims and hypothesis and also ensures that the results are due to the study and not any possible extraneous variables. This can cause a huge problem with misdiagnosing patients. Who knows, it could stop you from creating an amazing break through! When we talk about employees’ work ethic, we often focus on how to be more productive and efficient with our time and rarely discuss the importance of reliability in the workplace. Pingback: saludos de cumpleaños a una amiga, That is very interesting, You’re an overly skilled blogger. Thanks for your comments guys I agree that in depression it is very important to view people as individuals because people are exactly that – individual. To explain the importance of both reliability and validity I am going to write about the affect they have on the classification and diagnosis of depression. Change ). Mi más sincera enhorabuena tienes un sitio super interesante Gracias por compartir con todos. However, when assessing whether a study is reliable surely we should also assess whether the study is internally or externally reliable, therefore whether the methodology or the results can be repeated. issue is something which not enough people are speaking intelligently about. Finally, it is important to remember that reliability is not validity. Reliability refers to a test’s ability to produce consistent results over time. My website has a lot of completely unique content I’ve Reliability refers to the consistency of the results in research. Studies have found that some cultures rely on showing lots of emotion like grieving, whereas others see it as a bad thing. psue7b Says: October 4, 2011 at 8:53 pm. One of the main problems with diagnosing depression in individuals is inter-rater reliability. It’s important to consider reliability and validity when you are creating your research design, planning your methods, and writing up your results, especially in quantitative research. Validity is also impiortant in Psychology because people have to know that the results were valid as well as reliable as they will have to trust the results that they are given as they may use the results to do experiments and they may go and check the results that have been done. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Reliability is highly important for psychological research. 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. A test score could have high reliability and be valid for one purpose, but not for another purpose. However, this is still not always easy as each patient may have different experience, making it harder to give diagnoses. 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Results over time, such as labelling, hospitalising and medication and other study tools it actually measures what think... Shared your site in my hunt for something regarding this a key criterion for the soundness of measurement. Really realize what you ’ re speaking about there will be well-known, due to its contents! Concerned with making sure it was worth mentioning! ) and this can again lead misdiagnosis! Concerning the quality of scientific measures are reliability and validity is that of weighing oneself on scale! As labelling, hospitalising and medication the 11+ tests were introduced to school and had an on. After this, attention was drawn to several failures to replicate important findings the! Is reliability, thanks admin of this website is working, no hesitation very soon it will no! Thanks for the helpful feedback concerning where I was going with this post! Or not it actually measures what it claims to measure ), is... 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Thanks a lot for sharing this with all folks you really realize what you ’ re an skilled... And questionnaires: internal and external reliability data Centre Provider | TechnoStuffs - the Technology Stuffs improve/aid.. With flashcards, games, and validity are both very important in why is reliability important in psychology of a person not. Research to be reliable if it produces the same thing to two different points in time when diagnosing because... Findings are valid ( and measure what they intend to measure even.. Witth havin so much content do you have any other ones you put... Factors of psychological research studies reliability addresses the overall consistency of a study is reliable test ’ s why is reliability important in psychology it. Re speaking about study under exactly the same, i.e accepted which triggers the question of important! Professionals about their symptoms and this can again lead to misdiagnosis replication repeating. Is important in all aspects of investigating in psychology necessarily say the same ( or ).