Thanks for all your responses regarding my question. I agree with all your suggestions, and I will look deeper into my data for other indicators of internal consistency, and take a decision guided by my disciplinary norms and expectations.

Thanks and have a happy Easter !

rgds, CY

--- On Fri, 4/10/09, Chao Yawo <yawo1964@yahoo.com> wrote:

> From: Chao Yawo <yawo1964@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Cronbach's and Kuder-Richardson Alpha:  How Low?
> To: SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU, "SAS-L" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Date: Friday, April 10, 2009, 1:22 PM
> Hello,
>
> I am trying to develop some summed scales using
> "Demographic and Health Surveys". I know that alphas greater
> than .70 are often acceptable. But is this cut-off dependent
> on field?  Some have suggested that alphas lower than
> .60 are acceptable in the social sciences and
> humanities.
>
> Is there any credence to this? Any sources to support this
> claim? I heard Hatcher L(1994) makes such a claim in his
> "Step-by-Step Approach to Using SAS System in Factor
> Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling", but I am yet to
> get the book from ILL.
>
> Hoping for some clarification...
>
> thanks Yy
>
>
>
>