What you need to know

The purpose of survey reliability is to insure the effectiveness of each survey question and the effectiveness of the overall survey. Also, the purpose of survey reliability is to measure the scores or responses on a survey. Survey reliability suggests that if you measure something over and over again, you can expect similar answers. For instance, if you measured yourself with a tape measure and it showed you were 6 feet. Then you measured yourself again and it showed you at 5’11”. Then another time the tape measure showed you at 6’1”. You would question the reliability of the tape measure. You would then look to find a tool that would be more reliable. For surveys, reliability scores helps you determine if your survey will give you reliable answers you can use.

Additionally, a survey reliability score range from 0 to 1.0. So the scores read just like a grade. For instance, a grade of .70 is not a great score, but it is acceptable. While a grade of .65 is not an acceptable score, it is a passing score. However, if the answers on a survey are .65, you will have to explain why you elected to present the answers from the survey. While a reliability score of .80 to .96 are great, you want to be careful not to rely on survey scores that are higher than .96. These scores suggest that most or all of your questions are measuring the same thing over and over.

Do's and Dont's of Using Survey Reliability Analysis

Do's

Do use survey reliability on surveys that assess attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Survey reliability is effective when you have at least 5 people for every 1 question. This means if you have a survey with 10 questions, you should have 50 people take the survey to get a usable reliability score. However, best practice is a 10 to 1 ratio. So, for a survey with 10 questions, you should have 100 people take the survey.

Do depend on your knowledge about the questions you are asking. When a question is shown to be less reliable, think about why that question may show up as less reliable. It might be something as simple as how the question was worded.

Dont's

Don't use survey reliability on surveys that gathers general information, like race, income, gender, or what time would you like to have our meeting.

Report the scores of a survey with less than a 5 to 1 ratio as reliable. The findings of this type of survey would be less robust and not dependable.

Don't use reliability scores as the sole reason for accepting or rejecting questions on your survey. Survey reliability helps guide you to creating a more effective survey. Use this method as a way to help you enhance your survey,

Selecting rhe right type of survey

Reliability Studio

If you want to gather data on the attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, or customer satisfaction then use the survey reliability studio.

Forms Studio

If you want to gather general information such as demographic data, meeting times, or collecting general information about your employees then use the forms studio.

Quiz Studio

If you want to assess the effectiveness of questions on a test or quiz or need to develop an effective test for measuring knowledge or achievement then use the quiz studio.