Validity and Reliability

Instruments are tools researchers use to collect data. They are also known as “tests.” In reference to instruments, validity is about the instrument itself, that is, “Is the test measuring what it is supposed to measure?” Reliability means, “Are the results of the test consistent over time?”

Based on this week’s required studies, answer the following questions:

• How do validity and reliability help to ascertain the quality of a piece of research?
• When presented with a set of student assessment data from
  standardized testing, what criteria would you look for to ascertain the
  qualities of validity and reliability of the data?
• What is most important, the validity or the reliability of an assessment in your daily practice? Explain.

Support your statements with evidence from the required studies and your research. Cite and reference your sources in APA style.

• Textbook Reading
  

  Fundamentals of Education Research (McMillan, 2015)

  • Chapter 6: Foundations of Educational Measurements
  • Chapter 8: Nonexperimental Quantitative Research Designs
  • Chapter 10: Understanding Statistical Inferences

  Understanding Education Research: A Guide to Critical Reading (Shank, Brown, & Pringle, 2018)

  • Optional: Review Chapter 3: Basic Approaches in Educational Research, pages 9-19 (not the whole chapter)
    • This is a quick and easy overview of the use of educational statistics in research.
  • Chapter 10: Understanding Quantitative Results and Findings
    • Skim this chapter, which will help you with the article critique assignment for this week.
• 

  Read
  

  • Motivational Effects of Test Scores of Elementary Students (Brown & Walberg, 1993) [Web page]
  • Chapter 6: The Group and the Individuals (descriptive statistics) (Brown, 1998) [Web page]
• 

  View
  

  • EDGR 601 Scholarly Writing (Concordia University Portland – Online, 2018c) [Video] [
    Transcript
    
    ]
  • Literature Review Matrix (Week 2) (Concordia University Portland – Online, 2016a) [Video] [Closed captioned] [
    Transcript
    
    ]
  • Literature Review Preparation Creating a Summary Table (NurseKillam, 2013) [Video] [Closed captioned]

  Watch Video
  Literature Review Preparation Creating a Summary Table
  Duration: 4:44