Use Omega Rather than Cronbach’s Alpha for Estimating Reliability. But…
2020/01/02 by Andrew F. Hayes, Jacob J. Coutts · 28 citations
Computer Science · Decision Sciences · Psychology · #Advanced Statistical Modeling Techniques #Cultural Differences and Values #Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
paper · doi:10.1080/19312458.2020.1718629
openalex publication_date 2020/01/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Abstract
Cronbach’s alpha (α) is a widely-used measure of reliability used to quantify the amount of random measurement error that exists in a sum score or average generated by a multi-item measurement scale. Yet methodologists have warned that α is not an optimal measure of reliability relative to its more general form, McDonald’s omega (ω). Among other reasons, that the computation of ω is not available as an option in many popular statistics programs and requires items loadings from a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) have probably hindered more widespread adoption. After a bit of discussion of α versus ω, we illustrate the computation of ω using two structural equation modeling programs (Mplus and AMOS) and the MBESS package for R. We then describe a macro for SPSS and SAS (OMEGA) that calculates ω in two ways without relying on the estimation of loadings or error variances using CFA. We show that it produces estimates of ω that are nearly identical to when using CFA-based estimates of item loadings and error variances. We also discuss the use of the OMEGA macro for certain forms of item analysis and brief form construction based on the removal of items from a longer scale.
Citations
Cited by
- Memorable Messages as Anticipatory Resilience: Examining Associations among Memorable Messages, Communication Resilience Processes, and Mental Health
- Undergraduates’ reactions to errors mediates the association between growth mindset and study strategies
- Adaptation and Standardization of Two Arabic Communicative Development Inventories for Children Aged 8–30 Months and 30–48 Months in Egypt, Jordan, and Palestine
- Rural Populism and Tolerance for Political Violence
- How repeated exposure to persuasive messaging shapes message responses over time: a longitudinal experiment
- Beyond the “Wow” Factor: Using Generative AI for Increasing Generative Sense-Making
- Academic Library Succession Planning in Research Universities in the United States
- Who motivates? Longitudinal relationships among political discussions, interest, and efficacy for high school students with varying levels of political open‐mindedness
- How measurement affects causal inference: Attenuation bias is (usually) more important than outcome scoring weights
- A boost to relational value: Examining the link between partner expressions of gratitude and self-esteem in close relationships
- Beyond the Trade-off Curve: Multivariate and Advanced Risk-Utility Maps for Evaluating Anonymized and Synthetic Data
- The Feature Understandability Scale for Human-Centred Explainable AI: Assessing Tabular Feature Importance
- When the means are no dead end: Effects of witnessing direct collective action for traffic transformation
- Spanish adaptation of the Math and Me Survey in primary education: Measuring second and fourth graders’ attitudes toward mathematics
- ‘Do Good, Expect the Worst’: The Indirect Effect of Social Cynicism on Prosocial Behavior via Empathy and Trust
- Danish parents’ vaccination readiness is associated with their children’s officially registered vaccination history
- From recorded to <scp>AI</scp> ‐generated instructional videos: A comparison of learning performance and experience
- The Occupational Depression Inventory: A new tool for clinicians and epidemiologists
- Trust and Human Autonomy after Cobot Failures: Communication is Key for Industry 5.0
- Reliability representativeness: How well does coefficient alpha summarize reliability across the score distribution?
- The pre-exposure prophylaxis personal obstacle scale: measurement properties in English, German, and French
- Differential Effects of Desktop and Immersive Virtual Reality on Learning, Cognitive Load and Attitudes of University Students
- Which educational approaches predict students’ generative AI confidence and responsibility?
- Validación del cuestionario de calidad relacional y profesional QRP-45: una nueva herramienta conversacional para una nueva cultura de amabilidad integral en el ámbito sanitario
- Using Gender-Inclusive Restrooms Promotes Positive Attitudes Toward Trans and Non-Binary People: Explanations from Gender Salience and Intergroup Contact
- Teacher digital empowerment scale: Study of validity and measurement invariance by gender and educational level
- Evaluating the psychometric structure of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression pre- and post-treatment in antidepressant randomised trials: Secondary analysis of 6843 individual participants from 20 trials
- An exploratory graphical analysis of the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale pre- and post-treatment using pooled antidepressant trial secondary data
Related