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Gender differences in the reliability of the EPQ? A bootstrapping approach
Author(s) -
Miles Jeremy N. V.,
Shevlin Mark,
Mcghee Patrick C.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
british journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.536
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8295
pISSN - 0007-1269
DOI - 10.1348/000712699161198
Subject(s) - psychology , reliability (semiconductor) , moderation , bootstrapping (finance) , statistics , spurious relationship , personality , homogeneity (statistics) , econometrics , social psychology , mathematics , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics
Reliability indicates the degree of stability or homogeneity of a measurement, but also places an upper limit on the degree of association with other variables. Various methods are available to estimate the reliability of a measurement scale. However, an issue that has rarely been examined is that the reliability of a measurement, as estimated by coefficient alpha, may differ between groups. If a measurement has a different reliability for groups within a sample, spurious moderator effects may occur. The present study examines the reliability of the four subscales of a widely used psychological measurement instrument, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire‐Revised (EPQ‐R), across gender. A bootstrapping methodology is employed which allows empirically derived standard errors to be calculated, and therefore tests of significance of difference to be computed. No significant differences were found in the reliability of the EPQ‐R across sexes.