Fullerton J T
Department of Community and Family Medicine, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla 92093.
J Nurse Midwifery. 1993 Mar-Apr;38(2):121-5. doi: 10.1016/0091-2182(93)90146-8.
The concepts of validity and reliability are defined within the context of applied clinical research. Validity concerns what an instrument measures and how well it does so. Reliability concerns the faith that one can have in the data obtained from use of an instrument, that is, the degree to which any measuring tool controls for random error. The researcher selects a measure that demonstrates content, criterion, or construct validity, according to the intended use of the measurement tool. Similarly, the researcher selects a measure that demonstrates a degree of reliability that is needed for its application. It is possible to have reliability without validity, but it is logically impossible to demonstrate that an unreliable test is valid.
效度和信度的概念是在应用临床研究的背景下定义的。效度关注的是一种工具测量的内容以及测量的准确性。信度关注的是人们对使用一种工具所获得的数据的信任程度，即任何测量工具控制随机误差的程度。研究者根据测量工具的预期用途选择一种具有内容效度、标准效度或结构效度的测量方法。同样，研究者选择一种具有其应用所需信度程度的测量方法。可能存在没有效度的信度，但从逻辑上讲，不可能证明一个不可靠的测试是有效的。
