Reliability is an essential measure of how closely observed scores represent latent scores (reflecting constructs), assuming some latent variable measurement model. We present a general theoretical framework of reliability, placing emphasis on measuring association between latent and observed scores. This framework was inspired by McDonald's (2011) regression framework, which highlighted the coefficient of determination as a measure of reliability. We extend McDonald's (2011) framework beyond coefficients of determination and introduce four desiderata for reliability measures (estimability, normalization, symmetry, and invariance). We also present theoretical examples to illustrate distinct measures of reliability and report on a numerical study that demonstrates the behavior of different reliability measures. We conclude with a discussion on the use of reliability coefficients and outline future avenues of research.

翻译：可靠性是衡量观测分数在假定某种潜在变量测量模型下反映潜在分数（即构念）程度的重要指标。本文提出了一种可靠性的通用理论框架，着重于度量潜在分数与观测分数之间的关联性。该框架受McDonald（2011）回归框架的启发，该框架强调将决定系数作为可靠性的度量指标。我们将McDonald（2011）的框架扩展至决定系数之外，并提出了可靠性度量的四项理想特性（可估计性、归一化、对称性与不变性）。文中通过理论示例阐释了不同的可靠性度量方法，并报告了一项数值研究以展示不同可靠性度量的行为特征。最后，我们讨论了可靠性系数的应用，并展望了未来的研究方向。