Learning and Evaluation/Archive/Learning modules/3Reliability & Validity

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Part 1: Introduction Welcome! Why Survey? Why Surveys Are Useful Constructs Operationalize Survey instruments Types of information Attributes - a special case Survey Objective and Planning Part 2: Reliability & Validity Reliability & Validity Reliability Validity Face Validity Content Validity Criterion Validity Construct Validity Part 3: Question Construction Writing Good Questions Questions from Existing Surveys Constructing your own Questions Be Specific Be Concise Avoid Double Negatives Minimize Social Desirability Bias Avoid Double-barreled questions Avoid abbreviations, jargon, technical terms, or slang Avoid leading questions Avoid loaded questions Use appropriate wording Ask useful questions Rely on second-hand data sparsely Use caution when asking personal questions Part 4: Response Options Question types Fill-in-the-blank Dichotomous pairs Multiple choice Check all that apply Ranking Scales Choosing response options Part 5: Questionnaire structure Important considerations Questions order Additional Resources Feedback

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Part 2: Reliability & Validity

Reliability and Validity are terms frequently used to describe how well-targeted your survey is to measure or obtain a specific piece of information.

Reliability tells us how well a survey is able to give us the same information if we were to survey the same respondents over and over.

Validity on the other hand, tells us how close to our target information.

Not Reliable, Not Valid The survey is not measuring what it is aiming for and respondents are giving different answers each time the survey is administered.	----	-
Low reliability, low validity The survey questions are not close enough to the target and respondents are still giving different answers each time the survey is administered.	----
Reliable, but not valid The questions are working better in that respondents answer the same each time, but not for what the survey is intended.	----	..
Valid and Reliable Questions are written so that respondents always respond the same way and the questions are giving the information needed.	----	.