Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A test of the hypothesis that Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient is the same for two tests administered to the same sample

  • Published:
Psychometrika Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In measurement studies the researcher may wish to test the hypothesis that Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient is the same for two measurement procedures. A statistical test exists for independent samples of subjects. In this paper three procedures are developed for the situation in which the coefficients are determined from the same sample. All three procedures are computationally simple and give tight control of Type I error when the sample size is 50 or greater.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bose, S. The distribution of the ratio of variances of two samples drawn from a given normal bivariate correlated population.Sankhyā: The Indian Journal of Statistics, 1935,1, 65–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feldt, L. S. The approximate sampling distribution of Kuder-Richardson reliability coefficient twenty.Psychometrika, 1965,30, 357–370.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feldt, L. S. A test of the hypothesis that Cronbach's alpha or Kuder-Richardson coefficient twenty is the same for two tests.Psychometrika, 1969,34, 363–373.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finney, D. J. The distribution of the ratio estimates of the two variances in a sample from a normal bivariate population.Biometrika, 1938,30, 190–192.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hakstian, A. R. & Whalen, T. E. Ak-sample significance test for independent alpha coefficients.Psychometrika, 1976,41, 219–231.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hogg, R. V. & Craig, A. T.Introduction to mathematical statistics (3rd ed.). New York: Macmillan, 1970, 187–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kendall, M. G. & Stuart, A.The advanced theory of statistics (Vol. 1, 3rd ed.). London: Charles Griffin, 1969.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kristof, W. The statistical theory of stepped-up reliability coefficients when a test has been divided into several equivalent parts.Psychometrika, 1963,28, 221–238.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odell, P. L. & Feiveson, A. H. A. A numerical procedure to generate a sample covariance matrix.Journal of the American Statistical Association, 1966,61, 199–203.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pitman, E. J. G. A note on normal correlation.Biometrika, 1939,31, 9–12.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Education, Division of Educational Psychology, Measurement & Statistics, The University of Iowa, 52242, Iowa City, Iowa

    Leonard S. Feldt

Authors
  1. Leonard S. Feldt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

The author is indebted to Jerry S. Gilmer for development of the computer programs used in this study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Feldt, L.S. A test of the hypothesis that Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient is the same for two tests administered to the same sample. Psychometrika 45, 99–105 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02293600

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02293600

Key words

Search

Navigation