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Topic 3.3 of Data Collection and Analysis Methods

Validity and Reliability of an Instrument

Four kinds of validity, three kinds of reliability, and why Unit 2's two biggest reproducibility failures -- Rossow's inconsistent malware labels and TESSERACT's spatial and temporal bias -- are actually reliability and validity problems wearing different names.

~30 min total·4 quadrants of structured content

By the end of this topic, you will

Distinguish face, content, construct, and criterion validity
Distinguish test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and inter-rater reliability
Explain why an instrument can be reliable without being valid, or valid without being reliable
Name the specific validity or reliability failure behind Unit 2's Rossow and TESSERACT cases

Quadrant 1 · e-Tutorial

Video lectures and walkthroughs

Quadrant 2 · e-Content

Articles and case studies

research-methodology

Validity and Reliability of an Instrument

Reliability is about how tightly your measurements cluster. Validity is about whether that cluster sits on the target. Unit 2's two biggest reproducibility failures turn out to be exactly these problems wearing different names.

12 min read

Quadrant 3 · Web Resources

Downloadable material and curated external links

Web resources coming soon.

Quadrant 4 · Self-Assessment

Test your knowledge — earn a certificate on first pass

Assessment coming soon.