Reliability, Validity, Effects Sizes, and Confidence Intervals in Multicultural Teaching and Learning Research and Scholarship

Abstract

Abstract Like many journals within education, for Multicultural Learning and Teaching, this writer found little written on measurement, effect sizes, and confidence intervals; therefore, the purpose of this article is to address these factors. The effect of not addressing these issues is that a basic foundation of science cannot be established without them (Thompson, 2002). It is hoped that researchers and scholars can adapt these concepts to their multicultural learning and teaching research and scholarship. Reliability, validity, effect sizes, and confidence intervals are necessary for multicultural learning, teaching, research and scholarship. Reliability and validity are the pillars of good research, and effect sizes allow one to determine the degree to which the null hypothesis may be false. Also, effect sizes are point estimates and they describe sample data, while confidence intervals describe what happen within populations through repeated sampling or repeated testing. This article describes reliability, validity, effect sizes, confidence intervals and how to calculate them using the SPSS statistical software. Individuals who understand multicultural issues will be able to apply these ideas to their research and scholarship. Finally, to aid understanding, few formulas are used, but narratives are used to aid in presenting these ideas.