Abstract

The two most important and fundamental characteristics of any measurement procedure are reliability and validity and lie at the heart of competent and effective study. However, these phenomena have often been somewhat misunderstood or under emphasized. How productive can be any research, if the instrument used does not actually measure what it purports to? How justifiable the research that is based on an inconsistent instrument? What constitutes a valid instrument? What are the implications of proper and improper testing? This paper attempts to explore these measurement related concepts as well as some of the issues pertaining thereto.

Key words: Item Analysis; Error; Validity; Reliability; Alpha