Author ORCID
Keywords
research methods, reliability, validity, research design, survey research, spiritual gift inventories, measuring church attendance
Abstract
Conducting high-quality research is difficult because so many things can go wrong, whether it be poor research design, researcher bias, inaccurate attempts to measure phenomena, random errors made by participants, or any of a myriad of other problems that can occur. Researchers need to consciously seek to maximize the accuracy of their measurements (measurements that are high in reliability) and make credible conclusions (conclusions that are high in validity). This paper explains several forms of validity and reliability using examples from measures of church attendance and spiritual gifts inventories. It first examines how the validity of research design (including both internal and external validity) and the validity of individual tests and measures (including construct, criterion, and content validity) can be increased. Various forms of validity are described (including inter-rater, test-retest, parallel forms, and internal reliability) so that they can be increased to maximize the likelihood that our conclusions are true.
Recommended Citation
Dunaetz, D. R. (2025). Validity and Reliability in Church-Based Research. Great Commission Research Journal, 17(1), 5-20. Retrieved from https://place.asburyseminary.edu/gcrj/vol17/iss1/1
Included in
Christianity Commons, Missions and World Christianity Commons, Practical Theology Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons
