Concepts of Reliability and Validity in Business Research Introduction

In business research, how evidence is obtained and how well the process can be duplicated to verify results are two important features that help scholars, professionals and stakeholders make progress in the field. Building on ideas and processes that can help business leaders, managers, owners, administrators and investors is part of what makes research so vital and important. However, not all research is equal—and sometimes research is conducted that is filled with bias or that has a faulty method because the study fails to control for other variables or does not observe what it intends to observe. Sometimes the study is so poorly explained that other researchers have no way to verify the reports. In such cases, these studies could cause more harm than good were their recommendations to be implemented in an organization or place of business. Research is meant to shed light on new ways to improve the field, but unless the research can be verified by others via the peer-review process, there is no way of knowing whether the study has merit or whether it is actually something that leaders should strive to promote in their work (Nicholas et al., 2015). This paper will discuss what it means for a study to have validity and reliability in business research, why these concepts are important for business research, and how academics and scholars can ensure that both concepts can exist in business research.

Validity and Reliability

Validity in research refers to the study’s ability to measure the outcomes that it purports to measure. A valid study will be one that accurately assesses what it says it is assessing: the evidence it obtains and the conclusions that stem from the interpretation of the findings will be valid if there is no other explanation for the findings—i.e., no other variables or factors that might have possibly impacted the outcome.

A reliable study is that can be repeated again and again by other researchers based on the method described in your study and the same outcome will be achieved every single time. In other words, a reliable study is one that has been clearly explained, with all the parts regarding how data was obtained, how an intervention was implemented or how a hypothesis was tested accurately described so that the same exact study or experiment could...

A study that is neither reliable nor valid will likely not be of any use to anyone while a study that is both will have very definite ramifications on the field. Business research is like any other type of research in any other type of discipline. In nursing, for instance, health care providers depend on research so that they can implement evidence-based practice—that is, practice in providing quality care to patients that is based on empirical evidence obtained over the course of research. Evidence paves the way to better practice in nursing (Melnyk, Gallagher-Ford, Long & Fineout-Overholt, 2014).
The same idea applies to business: the more evidence obtained from research regarding specific issues in business, the more likely practices in business are to be refined by those who seek to implement the evidence into their business practices. A business study that is both valid and reliable is one that could potentially make a big impact on the way organizations go about conducting their business.

How to Ensure Both Concepts Exist in Business Research

In business research, scholars can ensure that both reliability and validity exist in their research by testing and re-testing their methods and findings to ensure consistency in results. It is also helpful to have an IRB present to oversee the research. This is an internal review board that can help guide the process and identify errors in the research process before you begin a study. Pilot testing is also a good method for identifying whether your data collection instrument—such as a survey or interview questionnaire will actually help you to obtain the data you want to collect in order to answer your research question (Dikko, 2016).

The way that would work is this: before beginning a study, you lay out exactly all the parts that you intend to research. First, you identify a problem in business that you want to study. This problem should be something that others have not yet studied or some issue that requires more study. Usually this is presented as a gap in research and it can be a gap that you intend to fill with your study.

Once the problem is identified,…