What Is Cronbach’s Alpha and Why Should We Not “Worship” It?

“Cronbach’s Alpha > 0.7 means the scale is acceptable.”

This is probably one of the most common statements that Master’s students, DBA candidates, and PhD researchers hear when learning quantitative data analysis.

As a result, many people assume that as long as Cronbach’s Alpha is sufficiently high, the measurement scale is good and they can confidently move on to EFA, CFA, or SEM.

This is one of the most common misconceptions in quantitative research.

In reality, Cronbach’s Alpha is only an indicator of internal consistency among the observed variables within the same measurement scale.

It does not prove that the scale accurately measures the research construct (Validity), nor does it guarantee that your research model has scientific value.

A very high Alpha coefficient (e.g., >0.95) may even indicate that the items are overly similar or repetitive in content, reducing their ability to fully capture the construct being measured.

Conversely, in many exploratory studies or when investigating newly developed constructs, a Cronbach’s Alpha that is not particularly high may still be acceptable, provided it is appropriately justified within the research context and supported by a clear academic rationale.

More importantly, researchers need to understand:

• What Cronbach’s Alpha evaluates — and what it does not.
• When an observed variable should be removed, and when it should not be removed simply because doing so increases Alpha.
• The relationship between Cronbach’s Alpha and Composite Reliability (CR), rho_A, AVE, HTMT, and other indicators used to assess reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity.
• Why a good measurement scale cannot be evaluated based on a single Alpha value.

At Dr. Mỹ Academy, we always emphasize that data analysis is not about chasing statistical thresholds. It is about understanding the meaning of each indicator and knowing how to interpret it within the context of the research.

A valuable study is not valuable simply because Cronbach’s Alpha reaches 0.8 or 0.9. It is valuable because the researcher understands why the measurement scale is reliable, why the model is appropriate, and why the findings matter to both theory and practice.

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