Content validity and reliability of an enjoyable multicomponent agility test for boys: The N-challenge test
Noriteru Morita, Toru Ishihara, Rihito Yamamoto, Noriyuki Shide, Tomoyasu Okuda
Abstract
Agility is a crucial fitness component for success in sports and daily playful activities for children. The purpose of this study was to develop a multicomponent agility test, N-challenge, to determine the content validity and reliability of N-challenge, and to investigate the enjoyment level of N-challenge among elementary school boys. N-challenge consisted of six sections and total running time. The running time of N-challenge was measured in a single trial concomitantly with timing/speed gates. Content validity was assessed by eight experts in sports science. To measure reliability, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and standard error of measurement (SEM) were calculated using a test-retest procedure. The enjoyment levels of the boys who performed N-challenge were assessed using a questionnaire. The item-content validity index of the total running time of N-challenge was 1.00. The ICC of the total running time of N-challenge was 0.97 (95% confidence interval: 0.96-0.98), which was categorized as an almost perfect level of reliability. The SEM of N-challenge was 0.18 s (1.9%), indicating good absolute reliability. Approximately 95% of the boys showed enjoyment after performing the test. These results suggest that N-challenge has adequate content validity and excellent reliability as an agility test for boys.