RELIABILITY OF RELIABILITY COEFFICIENTS IN THE ESTIMATION OF ASYMMETRY

Although promising to provide insight into the interaction between gen otype and environment, investigations into fluctuating asymmetry suffe r from a lack of standardization in the reporting of measurement error . In the present paper we show, using both anthropometric and odontome tric data, that the use of the reliability coefficient calculated for a bilateral measurement provides no indication of the reliability of t he corresponding asymmetry estimate, because reliability of asymmetry depends on the relationship between measurement error and the differen ce between sides. Thus, we suggest that future investigations either p rovide reliability coefficients for asymmetry estimates specifically, or use methods that account for measurement error. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss , Inc.