Inter-item Correlations

Synonyms

Cronbach’s (alpha); Internal-consistency reliability; Test-retest reliability coefficient

Definition

Inter-item correlations are an essential element in conducting an item analysis of a set of test questions. Inter-item correlations examine the extent to which scores on one item are related to scores on all other items in a scale. It provides an assessment of item redundancy: the extent to which items on a scale are assessing the same content (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2005). Ideally, the average inter-item correlation for a set of items should be between .20 and .40, suggesting that while the items are reasonably homogenous, they do contain sufficiently unique variance so as to not be isomorphic with each other.

When values are lower than .20, then the items may not be representative of the same content domain. If values are higher than .40, the items may be only capturing a small bandwidth of the construct. Inter-item correlations address issues relating to a scale's fidelity of...