TY  - JOUR
T1  - Crucial Role of Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) in Assessing
Survey Instrument Reliability
AU - Ismail, Suzilah AU - Hashim, Rosna Awang AU - Yusof, Norhafezah 
JO  - Research Journal of Applied Sciences
VL  - 13
IS  - 4
SP  - 241
EP  - 244
PY  - 2018
DA  - 2001/08/19
SN  - 1815-932x
DO  - rjasci.2018.241.244
UR  - https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=rjasci.2018.241.244
KW  - Exploratory data analysis
KW  -survey instrument
KW  -reliability
KW  -Cronbachs alpha
KW  -exploratory factor analysis
KW  -NSSE
AB  - Commonly, survey instrument reliability is achieved through Cronbach’s alpha and Exploratory
Factor Analysis (EFA). However, the existence of different values rule of thumb often creates confusion for
novice researchers. Thus, the study aims to investigate the crucial role of Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) in
assisting the reliability testing of a survey instrument via. box plot to clearly understand the instrument’s items.
The instrument was adapted and adopted from well-established instrument of the National Survey of Student
Engagement (NSSE) which consists of 4 constructs, 13 dimensions and total of 59 items. The study focuses
on student-faculty interaction dimension which comprises 6 items. The finding shows that item 1a is causing
the internal inconsistency which jeopardizing the reliability of the student-faculty interaction dimension. Hence,
by using EDA in depth understanding is obtained and cross checked with Cronbach’s alpha and EFA values
in removing the item from the instrument. Thus, emphasizing the crucial role of EDA in assessing survey
instrument reliability where in depth understanding regarding the item offers alternative solution to overcome
the problem of different rule of thumb of Cronbach’s alpha and EFA values.
ER  -