Kimberlin Carole L, Winterstein Almut G
Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2008 Dec 1;65(23):2276-84. doi: 10.2146/ajhp070364.
Issues related to the validity and reliability of measurement instruments used in research are reviewed.
Key indicators of the quality of a measuring instrument are the reliability and validity of the measures. The process of developing and validating an instrument is in large part focused on reducing error in the measurement process. Reliability estimates evaluate the stability of measures, internal consistency of measurement instruments, and interrater reliability of instrument scores. Validity is the extent to which the interpretations of the results of a test are warranted, which depends on the particular use the test is intended to serve. The responsiveness of the measure to change is of interest in many of the applications in health care where improvement in outcomes as a result of treatment is a primary goal of research. Several issues may affect the accuracy of data collected, such as those related to self-report and secondary data sources. Self-report of patients or subjects is required for many of the measurements conducted in health care, but self-reports of behavior are particularly subject to problems with social desirability biases. Data that were originally gathered for a different purpose are often used to answer a research question, which can affect the applicability to the study at hand.
In health care and social science research, many of the variables of interest and outcomes that are important are abstract concepts known as theoretical constructs. Using tests or instruments that are valid and reliable to measure such constructs is a crucial component of research quality.
对研究中使用的测量工具的有效性和可靠性相关问题进行综述。
测量工具质量的关键指标是测量的可靠性和有效性。开发和验证一个工具的过程在很大程度上聚焦于减少测量过程中的误差。可靠性估计评估测量的稳定性、测量工具的内部一致性以及工具分数的评分者间可靠性。有效性是指对测试结果的解释具有正当性的程度，这取决于该测试预期的特定用途。在医疗保健的许多应用中，测量对变化的反应性是令人感兴趣的，在这些应用中，作为治疗结果的改善是研究的主要目标。几个问题可能会影响所收集数据的准确性，比如那些与自我报告和二手数据源相关的问题。医疗保健中的许多测量都需要患者或受试者的自我报告，但行为的自我报告特别容易受到社会期望偏差问题的影响。最初为不同目的收集的数据常常被用来回答一个研究问题，这可能会影响其对手头研究的适用性。
在医疗保健和社会科学研究中，许多重要的感兴趣变量和结果都是被称为理论构想的抽象概念。使用有效且可靠的测试或工具来测量此类构想是研究质量的关键组成部分。
