Veronica F. Rempusheski

Using reliability and validity in clinical practice

y OU CANNOT feel them, smell them, or see them; they are abstract concepts. I am talking about the concepts of reliability and validity. I often hear: I can never remember how to define reliability or validity from clinical nurses about to begin a study. Everyone who has ever enrolled in a research course in nursing school has been introduced to the concepts of reliability and validity. For the most part, all of us memorize these terms to get through that first course in nursing research. A true understanding of what these terms or concepts mean may not (most likely will not) be achieved at this first encounter. The concepts of reliability and validity may seem too abstract to understand their applicability in the real world. An individual will understand the concepts of reliability and validity by using them in research. Thus, the researcher will develop an appreciation for the necessity of these concepts in the integrity and rigor of not only research endeavors but also clinical practice activities. Consequently, relating reliability and validity to the practice arena will assist a clinical nurse in gaining an understanding and appreciation of the concepts of reliability and validity as well as how these concepts are important to nursing research.