Content Validity Index (CVI) and CVR Calculator
Quantify expert agreement on your questionnaire items. Use the CVI (Lynn, 1986; Polit and Beck, 2006) for relevance ratings on a 4-point scale, or Lawshe’s content validity ratio for essential, useful and not-necessary judgements with exact critical values.
Updated · By Bibin XavierData 10 × 8
| Itemtext · 10 levels | Expert_1numeric · coded | Expert_2numeric · coded | Expert_3numeric · coded | Expert_4numeric · coded | Expert_5numeric · coded | Expert_6numeric · coded | Expert_7numeric · coded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 trusts the brand | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Q2 keeps promises | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Q3 is honest | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Q4 is reliable | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Q5 cares about me | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Q6 colour preference | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Q7 acts in my interest | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Q8 is competent | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Variables and options
Results
10 rows · example dataItem-level content validity
| Item | Experts | Rated 3 or 4 | I-CVI | Pc | Modified κ* | Evaluation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 trusts the brand | 2 | 2 | 1.00 | 0.250 | 1.00 | Excellent |
| Q2 keeps promises | 2 | 2 | 1.00 | 0.250 | 1.00 | Excellent |
| Q3 is honest | 2 | 2 | 1.00 | 0.250 | 1.00 | Excellent |
| Q4 is reliable | 2 | 2 | 1.00 | 0.250 | 1.00 | Excellent |
| Q5 cares about me | 2 | 2 | 1.00 | 0.250 | 1.00 | Excellent |
| Q6 colour preference | 2 | 1 | 0.50 | 0.500 | 0.00 | Poor |
| Q7 acts in my interest | 2 | 2 | 1.00 | 0.250 | 1.00 | Excellent |
| Q8 is competent | 2 | 2 | 1.00 | 0.250 | 1.00 | Excellent |
| Q9 store parking | 2 | 1 | 0.50 | 0.500 | 0.00 | Poor |
| Q10 is consistent | 2 | 2 | 1.00 | 0.250 | 1.00 | Excellent |
Note. I-CVI should be 1.00 with five or fewer experts (Lynn, 1986; Polit, Beck and Owen, 2007). κ* adjusts I-CVI for chance agreement: > .74 excellent, .60–.74 good, .40–.59 fair.
Interpretation
The scale-level index is S-CVI/Ave = 0.90, meeting the .90 benchmark. Revise or remove Q6 colour preference, Q9 store parking, whose I-CVI is below 1.00.
How to cite this tool
Using these results in a thesis, journal article, report or class assignment? Please cite this free tool so others can find it. It keeps the site free.
APA 7
Xavier, B. (2026). Content Validity Index (CVI) and CVR Calculator [Web application]. FreeStatisticalTools.com. https://freestatisticaltools.com/content-validity-index-calculator/
BibTeX
@software{xavier_contentvalidityindex_2026,
author = {Xavier, Bibin},
title = {Content Validity Index (CVI) and CVR Calculator},
publisher = {FreeStatisticalTools.com},
year = {2026},
url = {https://freestatisticaltools.com/content-validity-index-calculator/},
note = {Web application}
}Suggested sentence for your methods section: “The analysis was carried out with the free Content Validity Index (CVI) and CVR Calculator tool on FreeStatisticalTools.com (Xavier, 2026).”
What is the content validity index?
Content validity shows that a questionnaire’s items represent the construct, based on expert judgement. The content validity index summarises relevance ratings on a 4-point scale; Lawshe’s content validity ratio summarises how many experts judge each item essential.
When to use the content validity index
Use it during questionnaire development, after a panel of experts rates each item for relevance (CVI) or for how essential it is (CVR).
How to set up your data
One row per item: an item label column, then one column per expert holding that expert’s rating.
How to use this tool
- Enter your data. Paste columns from Excel, Google Sheets or SPSS with variable names in the first row, or upload a CSV or Excel file. The example data shows the expected layout.
- Choose the variables. Select the item label column and expert columns.
- Set the options. Fill in method.
- Read the results. Results update automatically. Read the plain-English interpretation, then use Copy table to paste APA-style tables into Word and Copy for the results sentence.
How to report the content validity index in APA style
Report the number of experts, I-CVI (or CVR) for each item, and S-CVI/Ave and S-CVI/UA for the scale.
Frequently asked questions
How is the I-CVI calculated?
I-CVI is the proportion of experts who rate an item 3 or 4 on a 4-point relevance scale. With six or more experts it should be at least .78.
What is the difference between S-CVI/Ave and S-CVI/UA?
S-CVI/Ave is the mean of the item I-CVIs (target ≥ .90). S-CVI/UA is the proportion of items rated relevant by every expert (target ≥ .80).
What is the critical CVR value?
It depends on the panel size. This tool calculates it with the exact binomial test (Ayre and Scally, 2014); for 10 experts the critical CVR is .80.
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