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Definition
Ordinal coefficient alpha estimates the internal consistency for scales involving ordinal data, using the polychoric correlation matrix for its estimation.
Description
Reliability and validity are fundamental properties of measurement scales and tests. Cronbach’s alpha (Cronbach, 1951), a method to estimate internal consistency, is the most widely and frequently used reliability index (Zumbo & Rupp, 2004). Reliability coefficients, such as Cronbach’s alpha, are typically calculated using a Pearson covariance matrix (e.g., as a default in statistical software programs, such as SPSS). One assumption when using the Pearson correlation (or more generally, covariance) matrix is that the data are continuous; if this is not the case, the Pearson correlation matrix may be significantly distorted (e.g., Flora & Curran, 2004).
In quality of life measurement, it is very common to use ordinal item response data, e.g., based on the...
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References
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Gadermann, A., Guhn, M., Zumbo, B.D. (2014). Ordinal Alpha. In: Michalos, A.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_2025
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_2025
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