Misguided Question: IвЂ™m inspired to do my best work here at my organization.Valid Question: My organization inspires me to do my best work.Changes to wording or structure may result in different responses.Д¬onsider this example of a misguided change to a valid question: This is particularly important when it comes to tracking and comparing results with past internal surveys and benchmarks from external sources.

Reliability on the other hand, is concerned with consistency or the degree to which the questions used in a survey elicit the same kind of information each time theyвЂ™re asked. For instance, to what extent is an employee engagement survey actually measuring engagement? It depends on asking questions that truly measure what is supposed to be measured. Validity is concerned with the accuracy of your survey. The time and effort it takes for respondents to complete a survey, number of points on the rating scale, phrasing of points, order of questions and layout are just a start. There are many components involved in survey design that contribute to high (or low) quality data. Knowing the difference between survey validity and reliability also brings clarity around why adding or modifying questions and wording, flow, and format from one survey to the next can have consequences. Making sure youвЂ™re working with a demonstrably valid and reliable survey will get you the kinds of data you can confidently tell others is, indeed, dependable. Why is it important to know the difference?Д«ecause in most cases, sourcing and hiring a survey partner, or DIY survey creation and implementation, falls to HR.

But in the field of data research, the two are far from synonymous. ItвЂ™s not uncommon for those two words to be used interchangeably. You may ask yourself or find others asking you about the вЂњreliabilityвЂќ or вЂњvalidityвЂќ of data that comes out of employee surveys.

Validity and reliability of data