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Reliability and Validity

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Reliability and Validity Dede Kendrick BSHS/382 January 16, 2012 Angela Heads Reliability and Validity Evaluating human services is a task that can be very complex. People can have different interpretations of the same event. Another concern is that people are not always honest. Therefore, human services will gain from effective, high quality evaluations of data collection methods. This requires that the data collection methods supply accurate and dependable information. This paper will define and describe 2 concepts of measurement known as reliability and validity,-provide examples and supporting facts as to how these concepts apply to data collection in human services, and evaluate the importance of the validity and …show more content…

When multiple people are given assessments of some kind or are the subjects of some test, then similar people under the same circumstances should lead to scores that are similar or duplicates ("Types Of Reliability", 2011). This is the idea of inter-rater reliability. Another mode of reliability is the administration of the same test among different participants and expecting the same or similar results ("Types Of Reliability", 2011). This is known as Test-retest reliability. This method of measurement might be used to make determinations about the effectiveness of a school exam or personality test ("Types Of Reliability", 2011). Surveys and other methods of research present the appropriate avenues for data collection. Data collection and measurement methods are used in human services to help organizations achieve leadership capacity and to achieve high performance outcomes. Agencies that track the effectiveness of their services through field studies and surveys will have a record of techniques that have worked best to fulfill mission goals. The evidence of such reported facts will come in handy in terms of funding, policy efforts, and keeping professionals educated. From psychological and behavioral aspects, interviews, test groups, and random assignment are just a few ways to collect data in controlled and uncontrolled environments. Human services use these methods to apply theory to real life situations. Human services depends on the effective analysis

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