Validity and Reliability on Emergency Preparation and Response in the World of Corporate Security - Essay Example

1. Write two paragraphs for each (validity and reliability) explaining how you will be able to successfully achieve both in your term paper (my term paper is on Emergency Preparation and Response in the World of Corporate Security). To achieve validity in my research paper, I would have to ensure that I am measuring the variables that I set out to measure. There are different types of validity that have to be addressed. First is face validity. This requires that my measure appears relevant to my construct from the point of view of those whom I wish to measure. In the context of my research, this means that I have to ask a content expert if my instrument in gathering data looks valid. Similarly, this may be undertaken by asking potential respondents about the face validity of my instrument through a pilot run of the survey. Yet still another measure of validity is content validity. In this type of validity, I am bound to do a content validity check and ask experts in the field of corporate security on their opinion about the instrument – that is, if they think that the instrument will be able to measure what I set it out to measure. Content validity has two subtypes, predictive validity and concurrent validity. One way of checking the predictive validity of my research tool is to see if it can predict other variables that are “logically related” to those which are measured by the instrument. If it does, that means that the instrument I constructed is content valid. On the other hand, concurrent validity works the same way as predictive validity; however, the measure of this is logical correlations with other variables that are assumed to be associated with those measured in the tool. Finally, I can also do a construct validity check. For example, if I am measuring the variables emergency preparation and response, they should correlate with other related constructs in an anticipated manner if my instrument does have construct validity. If my research deals with interviews I should be able to get more valid results through the following: 1) Divergence from initial expectations. I can see my personal notes kept from the beginning to see how the data has pushed me from my original assumptions 2) Convergence with other sources of data. Using various kinds of triangulation and comparisons with the literature 3) Comprehensive quotations. From field notes, transcripts of interviews, other notes 4) Other research data. These include archival data, recordings (video or audio) 5) Independent checks/multiple researchers--more than one person involved in the research of those studied; team research approach or other sources of verification 6) Member check. At the end of the study I can ask them if I am accurate or need correction/elaboration on constructs, hypotheses, etc. Some take this to the point of the researcher and those researched working together in the planning, conducting, and analysis of results. On the other hand, reliability is concerned with the consistency, predictability, stability, dependability and repeatability of a measure. In broad strokes, reliability is a measurement of the consistency or repeatability of the measurement of some phenomenon. In my research, if my instrument is reliable, this suggests that it can measure the same thing more than once utilizing more than one method and garnering the same result. Moreover, this means that if I administer my survey to the same sample, I ought to get more or less similar scores if my instrument is reliable. The quantitative measures of validity are parallel forms reliability, test-retest reliability and inter-rater reliability. 2. Write a brief explanation of reliability and validity and give 3 examples of each. Validity is research criterion which addresses the issues of whether the researcher is truly measuring what he says he set out to measure. One type of validity is face validity which necessitates that the measure appears significant to the construct that the researcher is trying to measure, specifically to the group of people whom he intends to use the instrument with. A second type of validity is content validity which is very similar to face validity. This requires that the instrument used in the research be checked by an expert in terms of content. The theory behind content validity, as opposed to face validity, is that experts are keener of peculiarities of the construct that may be rare or elusive to a non-expert. One type of content validity is predictive validity which is concerned with predicting other variables from that which one intends to measure. For example, if one intends to construct an attitude survey, can high attitude scores also be predictive of job promotion? Yet another type of content validity is concurrent validity. Continuing from the example on the attitude survey, can attitude surveys give scores that agree with other variables that logically go with attitude? Reliability refers to the consistency and repeatability of scores. One type of reliability is parallel forms reliability. This is a gauge of equivalence, and it entails the administration of two different forms to the same group of people and yielding a correlation between the two forms. The higher the correlation between the two forms, the more equivalent the forms. A second type of reliability is test-retest reliability which is a measure of stability over time. The most convenient way of assessing stability is to administer the same test at two different points in time to the same group of people and garnering a correlation between the two tests. Lastly, the third type of reliability is inter-rater reliability which involves a test of homogeneity. With inter-rater reliability, two people rate a behavior, object, or phenomenon and determine the amount of agreement between them. To determine inter-rater reliability, you take the number of agreements and divide them by the number of total observations. 3. You will define the following: limitations, delimitations, mean, median, hypothesis, objectives, theory. Limitations – Limitations refer to the scope of the research; that is, which variables were covered by the study and which were not. Delimitations – Delimitations refer to the scope with which the results of the research are generalizable or valid. It also involves defining the boundaries of the study in terms of the instrument/s used, the research design, the sample who has accomplished the instrument, among others. Mean – The mean refers to the arithmetic average. To compute for this, one gets the sum of the observations and divides by the total number of observations. Median – The median pertains to the 50th percentile; that is, the score which divides the array of scores into two equal halves, where 50% are higher than the score, while the other 50% of scores are lower. Hypothesis – Hypotheses refer to logical statements of inference that may be deduced from literature. These statements are logically tested through the quantitative and qualitative methods employed in the research. Objectives – Objectives pertain to the end goals of the research; the researcher has to ensure that all objectives of the study are addressed upon its completion. Theory – Theory refers to the framework, gathered from literature, which is used as the basis for the design of the study. By convention, the variables specified in the framework are used as bases for designing the research instruments. 4. You must come up with as many words that have the same general meaning for the original word AND incorporate each word into a sentence dealing with quantitative and qualitative research. The words are: Reliability – Repeatability, stability. One measure of reliability is the repeatability of scores measured through an instrument across time. If the instrument is administered to the same group of people, this suggests stability of scores – and ultimately, reliability of the instrument. Validity – Soundness, accuracy, face validity, content validity, construct validity. Validity refers to the soundness of a measure or instrument. This also suggests that the instrument accurately measures what it intends to measure. The different types of validity include face validity, content validity and construct validity. Research – Study, empirical investigation. A research may also be referred to as a study or an empirical investigation. It is a systematic way of proving or disproving a hypothesis, through both quantitative and qualitative methods. Abstract – Summary of the study, synthesis of the study. An abstract is a brief summary or synthesis of the study, which gives the reader an overview of the independent and dependent variables, its objectives, methods, results and conclusion. Theory – Theoretical framework, conceptual framework. The theoretical or conceptual framework is an input for the design of the instruments or tools used in the research. It serves as an anchor for determining which variables need to be measured. Related Literature – Review of related literature, secondary data gathering. The review of related literature pertains to undertaking a thorough research of all past studies done on the topic. It involves gathering secondary data through books, journals, on-line sources, and running records to gather pertinent related information on the current topic. Bibliography – References, works cited. The bibliography refers to all references and the works of other authors cited in the text (normally in the review of related literature). The bibliography may follow one among several styles including APA, MLA, Turabian, among others. Methods – Methodology, research method. The methodology or research method pertains to the following components of the research: research design, sampling technique, data gathering procedure, and method of data analysis. Review – Review of related literature, literature review. The review of related literature pertains to undertaking a thorough research of all past studies done on the topic. It involves gathering secondary data through books, journals, on-line sources, and running records to gather pertinent related information on the current topic. Thesaurus – Reference for synonyms, dictionary for synonymous terms. A thesaurus refers to a tool which may be used to find other terms for a word. This is particularly useful for paraphrasing literature gathered from other authors. It is necessary that these be paraphrased and cited properly to avoid being accused of plagiarism. 5. Explain the difference between reliability and validity and how it applies to your term paper (my term paper is on Emergency Preparation and Response in the World of Corporate Security). The relationship between reliability and validity is relatively simple to comprehend: an instrument or measure can be reliable, but not necessarily valid. However, a measurement must first be reliable before it can be valid. Thus reliability is a required, but not sufficient, condition of validity. Put simply, a measurement may consistently measure a phenomena (or outcome), but unless that measurement evaluates or measures what it intends to measure, it is not valid. References Corsaro, S. (1981). Entering the childs world. In J. Green & C. Wallat (eds.), Ethnography and Language in Educational Settings (pp. 117-147). Norwood, NJ: Ablex. Kines.edu (2006). Retrieved on February 3, 2006 from http://www.kines.uiuc.edu/labwebpages/Kinesmetrics/Reliability&Validity/validity2004_zhu_c.pdf Rymarchyk, G. (2006). Validity. Retrieved on February 3, 2006 from http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/tutorial/Rymarchk/rymar2.htm. Socialresearchmethods.net. (2006). How stable and consistent is your instrument? Retrieved on February 3, 2006 from http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/tutorial/Johnson/melody.htm Read More