Standard Error of Measurement (SEM)

Estimation of the distribution of someone’s true score on a measure

Authors

Affiliations

Nate Yomogida, B.S., SPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy

B.S. in Kinesiology

Chloë Kerstein, B.S., SPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy

B.A. in Neuroscience

Use

Could be used as an alternative to Minimially Important Difference (MID)¹

Calculation

The SEM was estimated for each scale by multiplying the baseline standard deviation of the scale by the square root of one minus its reliability coefficient¹

References

Rejas J, Pardo A, Ruiz MA. Standard error of measurement as a valid alternative to minimally important difference for evaluating the magnitude of changes in patient-reported outcomes measures. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 2008;61(4):350-356. doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2007.05.011

Citation

For attribution, please cite this work as:

Yomogida N, Kerstein C. Standard Error of Measurement (SEM). https://yomokerst.com/The Archive/Evidene Based Practice/Reliability/standard_error_of_measurement.html