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Towards more reliable survey items: An item-level stability protocol

Author

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  • Dolnicar, Sara
  • Grün, Bettina
  • MacInnes, Sarah

Abstract

Tourism researchers rely heavily on self-report data. The validity of their insights depends on reliability of measures, yet conventional test–retest reliability (1) overlooks item-level stability by relying on aggregate scale coefficients that can mask unstable questions; and (2) ignores how response options affect stability. We introduce the Item-Level Stability Protocol, which evaluates item-level test–retest reliability across answer options. We demonstrate its value using two-wave longitudinal survey data (N = 3193). Results show test–retest reliabilities can be substantially increased; an internal validation experiment achieves on average 0.10 higher Pearson correlation values. The new protocol is paradigm-agnostic, complements existing psychometric methods, and is simple to implement. It helps tourism scholars and practitioners identify optimal survey questions and response options for increased reliability.

Suggested Citation

  • Dolnicar, Sara & Grün, Bettina & MacInnes, Sarah, 2026. "Towards more reliable survey items: An item-level stability protocol," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:anture:v:118:y:2026:i:c:s0160738326000320
    DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2026.104148
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