Understanding Indicator and Construct Reliability.​

Indicator reliability Is the square of a standardized indicator’s indicator loading. It represents how much of the variation in an item is explained by the construct and is referred to as the variance extracted from the item. Indicator loadings above 0.708 are recommended, since they indicate that the construct explains more than 50 percent of the indicator’s variance, thus providing acceptable indicator reliability. The calculation of indicator reliability can be performed by squaring the values in the indicator/factor loading. The squared value >= 0.50 indicates the indicator reliability is established.

In case you obtain weaker indicator loadings (< 0.708) . Do not simply delete the indicators when their loading is below 0.70, researchers should carefully examine the effects of indicator removal on other reliability and validity measures. Generally, indicators with loadings between 0.40 and 0.708 should be considered for removal only when deleting the indicator leads to an increase in the internal consistency reliability or convergent validity above the suggested threshold value.

Another consideration in the decision of whether to delete an indicator is the extent to which its removal affects content validity.