22. Validity (22) Flashcards
What is validity?
The extent to which an observed effect is genuine, doesn’t measure what it was supposed to measure and can it be generalised beyond the research setting within which it was found?
What are the two subcategories of validity?
Internal validity and external validity
What is internal validity?
Whether the effects observed in an experiment are due to the manipulation of the independent variable and not some other factor.
What is a potential threat to internal validity?
Demand characteristics, if participants behave in a way they think is expected of them internal validity suffers as a result.
What is the external validity?
The extent to which the findings of a study can be generalised to other settings, populations or eras.
What are the two key subdivisions of the external validity?
Ecological validity and temporal validity.
What is ecological validity?
The extent to which findings for a research study can be generalised other settings and situations.
What is temporal validity?
The extent to which findings and research study can be generalised other historical times and eras.
How can we assess validity?
We can assess validity using face validity tests and concurrent validity tests.
What is face validity and how can it be used to assess validity?
A basic form of validity in which a measure is scrutinised to determine whether it appears to measure what it is supposed to measure, for instance, does a test of anxiety look like it measures anxiety. Eyeballing an instrument can simply assess the face validity.
What is concurrent validity and how can it be used to assess validity?
The extent to which the psychological measure relates to an existing similar measure. A test is said to have concurrent validity if its results are very close to those obtained on another recognised and well-established test. Comparing an instrument or test to other established tests would assess the validity.
How can we improve the validity of experimental research?
Using control group allows the researcher to assess whether changes in the dependent variable would you to the effect of the independent variable.
Experiments may also standardise procedures to minimise the impact of participant reactivity and investigator affects on the validity of the outcome, single and double-blind trials can be used to achieve this.
How can we improve the validity of questionnaires?
Incorporating a lie scale within the questions allows us to assess consistency of respondents responses and to control the effects of social desirability bias.
Validity can also be enhanced by ensuring data submitted remains anonymous.
How can we improve the validity of observations?
Covert observations are likely to produce data with high ecological validity because the behaviour of the participants is likely to be natural and authentic.
Ensuring that behavioural categories don’t overlap and aren’t ambiguous will also improve the validity of the data.
Are quantitative or qualitative methods of data collection thought to have higher validity and why?
Qualitative methods of research are thought to have higher ecological validity because of the depth and detail associated with case studies and interviews.
