Designing a survey isn’t just about asking questions—it’s about making sure your survey actually measures what it’s supposed to (validity) and does so consistently (reliability). If your survey is unreliable or invalid, your results won’t be trustworthy.
Here’s how to strengthen both reliability and validity in your research.
Improving Reliability (Consistency)
Reliability means your survey produces consistent results. If you gave the same survey to the same group twice, the answers should be similar.
Ways to improve reliability:
- Use Clear and Simple Wording
- Avoid jargon, technical terms, or double negatives.
- Example: Instead of “I am not dissatisfied with my workload”, ask “I am satisfied with my workload.”
- Standardize the Survey Format
- Keep Likert scales consistent (e.g., always 1 = Strongly Disagree → 5 = Strongly Agree).
- Use the same instructions across questions.
- Increase the Number of Items per Construct
- More items measuring the same concept (e.g., job satisfaction) improve internal consistency.
- Pilot Test the Survey
- Run a small test with a sample group.
- Identify confusing questions or inconsistent responses.
- Check Reliability Statistics
- Calculate Cronbach’s Alpha (≥ 0.70 is generally acceptable).
- Revise or drop items that reduce reliability.
Improving Validity (Accuracy)
Validity means your survey actually measures the intended concept—not something else.
Ways to improve validity:
- Ensure Content Validity
- Cover all aspects of the concept.
- Example: If measuring job satisfaction, include questions about pay, work environment, growth, and recognition.
- Use Established Scales Where Possible
- Adapt questions from previous validated surveys.
- This improves both content and construct validity.
- Avoid Leading or Biased Questions
- Example: Instead of “Don’t you agree that online classes are effective?”, ask “How effective do you find online classes?”
- Use Factor Analysis (for Construct Validity)
- Run Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) to check if items group into the right constructs.
- Follow with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to validate the structure.
- Test Different Types of Validity
- Convergent Validity: Do items measuring the same concept correlate strongly?
- Discriminant Validity: Are constructs distinct from each other?
- Criterion Validity: Do survey results align with external benchmarks (e.g., job satisfaction survey predicting employee turnover)?
Bonus: General Best Practices
- Pretest with Experts: Ask peers or supervisors to review questions for clarity and relevance.
- Randomize Question Order: Prevents response patterns or bias.
- Train Data Collectors (if interviews are used): Ensures consistent administration.
- Keep It Short and Focused: Long, tiring surveys lower data quality.
Final Thoughts
- Reliability = consistency. Improve it by writing clear questions, standardizing formats, and testing for internal consistency.
- Validity = accuracy. Improve it by covering all aspects of your construct, avoiding bias, and testing with factor analysis.
When both are strong, your survey becomes a powerful tool for producing credible and publishable research.
