testing validity and reliability in quantitative research

The quantitative study appraisal plays a crucial part in any evidence-based process. If the subject of research is treated inappropriately or the evidence provided is unreliable or incorrect, then the other factors, reliability, and applicability are automatically considered unnecessary. The extent of the accuracy of research, validity, constitutes a crucial factor in a study. While all three should be assessed when conducting or critiquing a study, validity is critical to any research. With this in mind, one may consider which instrument might be more important in the healthcare realm. Applicability, in turn, refers to the extent to which “the results of an observation, study or review are likely to hold in one’s practice setting” (“Glossary of Terms,” n.d.). According to Heale and Twycross (2015), reliability refers to the consistency of a measure, which means a person who completes the test should have approximately the same results each time it is completed. The next measure tools of quantitative study are reliability and applicability. Criterion validity refers to another instrument measuring the same variable. The face validity includes the expert opinion on whether the instrument measures the concept intended. The first one refers to the accuracy to which the instrument covers all the content (Heale & Twycross, 2015). There are three major categories of validity – content validity, face validity, and criterion validity. The study, which is supposed to explore depression but instead measures anxiety, cannot be valid.

Validity is described as “the extent to which a concept is accurately measured in a quantitative study” (Heale & Twycross, 2015).

First of all, validity and its inherent categories will be considered.

Testing validity and reliability in quantitative research