title: Generalizability theory: a unified approach to assessing the dependability (reliability) of measurements in the health sciences.
abstract: The reliability of health promotion program evaluation measures, behavioral and attitudinal measures, and clinical measures is a concern to many health educators. Classical reliability coefficients, such as Cronbach's alpha, apply to narrowly defined, prespecified measurement situations. Classical theory does not provide adequate reliability assessments for criterion-referenced measures, for measurement situations having multiple sources of error, or for aggregate-level variables. Generalizability theory can be used to assess the reliability of measures in these situations that are not adequately modeled by Classical theory. Additionally, Generalizability theory affords a broader view and a deeper understanding of the dependability of measurements and the role of different sources of error in the variability of measures.
authors.affiliation: Agricultural Biometric Service, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces 88003-8003, USA.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: VanLeeuwen
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pase
mesh_terms: D006293:Health Promotion / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015233:Models, Statistical; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results