Skip to main content
Log in

Statistical Guideline #2: Report Appropriate Reliability for your Sample, Measure, and Design

  • Integrative Review
  • Published:
International Journal of Behavioral Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

From the Editors: This is the second column from the Statistics Guru. The Statistics Guru will appear in every issue. In these columns, we briefly discuss appropriate ways to analyze and present data in the journal. As such, the Statistics Guru can be seen both as an editorial amuse bouche and a set of guidelines for reporting data in the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. If you have ideas for a column, please email the Statistical Editor, Suzanne Segerstrom at segerstrom@uky.edu.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Dun TJ, Baguley T, Brunsden V. From alpha to omega: a practical solution to the pervasive problem of internal consistency estimation. Br J Psychol. 2014;105:399–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Davenport EC, Davison ML, Liou PY, Love QU. Reliability, dimensionality, and internal consistency as defined by Cronbach: distinct albeit related concepts. Educ Meas Issues Pract. 2015;34:4–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Sijtsma K. On the use, the misuse, and the very limited usefulness of Cronbach’s alpha. Psychometrika. 2009;74:107–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Trapnell PD, Campbell JD. Private self-consciousness and the five-factor model of personality: distinguishing rumination from reflection. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1999;76:284–304.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Martin LL, Tesser A, McIntosh WD. Wanting but not having: the effects of unattained goals on thoughts and feelings. In: Wegner DM, Pennebaker JW, editors. Handbook of mental control. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall; 1993. p. 552–72.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Baglin J. Improving your exploratory factor analysis for ordinal data: a demonstration using FACTOR. Pract Assess Res Eval. 2014;19:14. Available online: pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=19&n=5. Accessed 21 May 2019.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Segerstrom SC, Stanton AL, Alden L, Shortridge BE. A multidimensional structure for repetitive thought: what’s on your mind, and how, and how much? J Pers Soc Psychol. 2003;85:909–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Cranford JA, Shrout PE, Iida M, Rafaeli E, Yip T, Bolger N. A procedure for evaluating sensitivity to within-person change: can mood measures in diary studies detect change reliably? Personal Soc Psychol Bull. 2006;32:917–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Geldhof GJ, Preacher KJ, Zyphur MJ. Reliability estimation in a multilevel confirmatory factor analysis framework. Psychol Methods. 2014;19:72–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Segerstrom SC, Boggero IA, Smith GT, Sephton SE. Variability and reliability of diurnal cortisol in younger and older adults: implications for design decisions. Psychoneuroendocrinol. 2014;49:299–309.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Segerstrom SC, Smith G. Methods, variance, and error in psychoneuroimmunology research: the good, the bad, and the ugly. In: Segerstrom SC, editor. The Oxford handbook of psychoneuroimmunology. New York, NY: Oxford; 2012. p. 421–32.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  12. Wang L, Grimm KJ. Investigating reliabilities of intraindividual variability indicators. Multivar Behav Res. 2012;47:771–802.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Suzanne C. Segerstrom.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The author declares that there are no conflicts of interest.

Human and Animal Studies

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by the author.

Informed Consent

There was no requirement for informed consent.

Additional information

This is one in a series of statistical guidelines designed to highlight common statistical considerations in behavioral medicine research. The goal is to briefly discuss appropriate ways to analyze and present data in the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine (IJBM). Collectively, the series will culminate in a set of basic statistical guidelines to be adopted by IJBM and integrated into the journal’s official Instructions for Authors, and also to serve as an independent resource. If you have ideas for a future topic, please email the Statistical Editor, Suzanne Segerstrom at segerstrom@uky.edu.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Segerstrom, S.C. Statistical Guideline #2: Report Appropriate Reliability for your Sample, Measure, and Design. Int.J. Behav. Med. 26, 455–456 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-019-09803-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-019-09803-5

Keywords

Navigation