ABSTRACT Cronbach’s alpha (coefficient α) is the conventional statistic communication scholars use to estimate the reliability of multi-item measurement instruments. For many, if not most communication measures, α should not be calculated for reliability estimation. Instead, coefficient omega (ω) should be reported as it aligns with the definition of reliability itself. In this primer, we review α and ω, and explain why ω should be the new ‘gold standard’ in reliability estimation. Using Mplus, we demonstrate how ω is calculated on an available data set and show how preliminary scales can be revised with ‘ω if item deleted.’ We also list several easy-to-use resources to calculate ω in other software programs. Communication researchers should routinely report ω instead of α.

中文翻译：

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Omega over alpha 用于一维通信措施的可靠性估计

摘要 Cronbach's alpha（系数α）是传统的统计学传播学者用来估计多项目测量工具可靠性的方法。对于许多（如果不是大多数）通信措施，不应该为可靠性估计计算 α。相反，应报告系数 omega (ω)，因为它与可靠性本身的定义一致。在本入门手册中，我们回顾了 α 和 ω，并解释了为什么 ω 应该成为可靠性估计中的新“黄金标准”。使用 Mplus，我们演示了如何在可用数据集上计算 ω，并展示了如何使用“ω 如果删除项目”来修改初步尺度。我们还列出了几个易于使用的资源来计算其他软件程序中的 ω。传播研究人员应该定期报告 ω 而不是 α。