Exam 13: Reliability and Validity

In an attempt to distinguish depression from fatigue among patients receiving radiation therapy for cancer,a researcher developed a fatigue scale.The new fatigue scale was administered along with instruments that measure depression.Fatigue scores were found to be negatively related to indicators of depression.How should this information be interpreted?

In developing an instrument to measure self-esteem,the researcher administered the instrument to a group of individuals who were substance abusers and to a group who were not drug users,expecting to see significant differences in scores between the two groups.How should this method of establishing construct validity be categorized?

A new instrument developed to measure mental status has been determined to be highly valid.What does this attribute mean?

A scale used in a hemodialysis unit consistently weighs chronic renal failure patients 1 lb more than their actual body weight.Which measurement problem does this illustrate?

A researcher who is developing a new instrument to measure pain has been told by experts and patients that the instrument has face validity.What should be the researcher's next step?

What does a nurse researcher assess when validity of an instrument is determined?

How should a nurse researcher describe the type of reliability existing when consistency of observation,measured by a correlation coefficient,is noted between two or more research assistants who record their observations of an event at the same time?

Why should a nurse researcher be concerned about an instrument's degree of internal consistency?

How can a nurse researcher assess the degree to which individual items on a scale cluster together around multiple dimensions?

What type of reliability is established by administering a test anxiety questionnaire to a group of nursing students before attending a test anxiety workshop and administering a different questionnaire to the same nurses immediately following the workshop?

An ear temperature probe that consistently reports body temperature at 0.8° C lower than actual body temperature has what type of reliability or validity problem?

Why should nurse researchers critiquing research reports be concerned with the assessment of the validity and reliability of study instruments?

What is the method or format of the Cronbach's alpha coefficient that a nurse researcher can expect to use as a test for reliability?

Which type of validity is most difficult to establish?

What type of validity is demonstrated by administering a test in which all the items relate to wound care and then evaluating student performance in caring for clients with wounds in the clinical setting?

How should a nurse researcher interpret a Cronbach's alpha coefficient ranging from 0.84 to 0.92 for the dimensions of an instrument?

Which type of validity is demonstrated by examining the extent to which a passing grade in physiology is correlated with passing the registered nurse licensure examination?

What is the significance of concurrent validity to a nurse researcher?

When the nurse researcher demonstrates that an instrument is highly reliable,what type of error is reduced?

Which measures used to test reliability are specific for homogeneity? (Select all that apply