Abstract: Students who undertake quantitative or mixed methods research within the fields of Social Science are usually instructed to test the reliability of their survey scales. The most common method used is Chronbach’s alpha. In fact it is the default test for scale reliability in SPSS. This article proposes that a traditional alpha analysis may be unsuitable for Social Science research as it’s output often causes students to wrongly doubt the validity of their quantitative analysis. A high response, low response Chronbach’s alpha analysis is suggested as a solution to this problem.
Keywords: Scale reliability test, Chronbach’s Alpha, Social Science research.
Title: Problems with the Use of Chronbach’s Alpha as a Test of Scale Reliability for Social Science Surveys
Author: Dr. J A Simcox
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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