Reliability and validity: a quick review.

The purpose of this article is to provide a brief review of reliability and validity testing. These concepts are important to researchers who are choosing techniques and/or developing tools that will be applied and evaluated in diabetes education practice. Several types of reliability and validity testing are defined, and an easy-to-use check sheet is provided for research purposes. Following testing for the basic aspects of reliability and validity such as face and construct validity, a tool may be appropriate for use in practice settings. Those conducting comprehensive outcomes evaluations, however, may desire additional validation such as testing for external validity. Diabetes educators can and should incorporate rigorous testing for these important aspects when conducting assessments of techniques and tools relating to diabetes self-management training.