26.22 Measurements

Clinical instrument…

  • … is valid if it produces an average measure of the outcome of interest
  • … is reliable if it produces similar scores in similar situations.

Lab instrument

  • A measure is accurate if it produces an average estimate of the quantity of interest
  • A measure that is not accurate is biased.
  • A measure is precise if it produces very similar outcomes under similar circumstances.
  • A measure that is not precise has high variability.