Concept of Reliability

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer reviews literature that discusses the concept of reliability. Specifically, the researcher reviews various definitions and interpretations of the term reliability and applies those definitions and interpretations to the field of nursing. The relevance of reliability to the field of nursing and healthcare compared with other uses of reliability is also examined. The writer concludes that the literature studied confirms that the term reliability may be defined in many ways. The writer notes that as applied to the healthcare field and nursing in particular, reliability relates primarily to whether or not the results of a given technique, method, procedure or protocol can be reproduced continuously with the same results.

Outline:
Literature Review: Concept of Reliability
Introduction
Reliability in Nursing
Summary of Literature
References

From the Paper:

"Implicit in the definition of reliability or concept of reliability is the notion that something must be reproducible to be accurate or valid. Validity and accuracy are implicit in any attempts at establishing reliability for a given phenomena. Within the field of nursing anything that is deemed reliable suggests that it is reproducible and hence effective or trustworthy. Explicit interpretations of the concept of reliability however require more empirical data that provides observable and precise evidence that something is accurate, trustworthy or valid. An explicit demonstration of the reliability of a technique proposed for example in the nursing field may require that participants demonstrate positive outcomes in various settings when the technique is used on multiple populations. Explicit interpretations of reliability suggest that something is clearly defined and formulated hence readily observable. A case in point may be observing trends in patient care. In one study for example several documentation systems were analyzed to assess whether the value of using nursing diagnosis in home care would have in diagnostic selection."

Sample of Sources Used:

• American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Ed. (2000). "Reliability." Houghton Mifflin Company.
• Ansell, J.I. & Phillips, M.J. (1989). "Practical problems in the statistical analysis of reliability data." Applied Statistics, 38(1): 205-47.
• Chinn, P. & Kramer, M.K. (1995), Theory and nursing: A systematic approach. 4th ed., St Louis: C.V. Mosby.
• Demmer, K.A., McKane, C., Griebenow, M.S., Behrenback, M.S. & Timm, J. (2005). "Nursing-sensitive outcomes implementation and reliability testing in two cardiac surgery intensive care units." EAA Knowledge. 5, Feb 2006: http://eaa-knowledge.com/ojni/ni/8_3/demmer.htm
• Lawless, J. (2000). "Statistics in reliability." Journal of the American Statistical Association, 95(1): 451.

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