5) Reliability and validity key terms Flashcards
What is meant by reliability?
Refers to the extent to which something is constant
-reliable effects are replicated across a number of different studies and individuals
What is internal reliability?
Extent to which different parts of a measure are consistent with itself
(Measured using split half method)
What is external reliability?
Extent to which a measure is reliable when repeated
(Measured using the test-retest method / inter-rater)
What is inter-rater reliability?
The degree of agreement among raters
(E.g. two people do the same thing and then compare their ratings)
In an inter-rater situation what does a high correlation between raters / observers mean? (0.8+)
The measure is reliable
What is test-retest reliability?
Measures the test consistency; the reliability measured over time
(E.g. if a person completes the same test twice at different times)
If the results of the two test in a test-retest situation achieve a correlation co-efficient of 0.8 or above, what does that mean?
The results are reliable
What is meant by validity?
Refers to the extent which something is measuring what it is claiming to measure
(E.g. does your aggression questionnaire really measure aggression?)
What is meant by internal validity?
Refers to the extent to which a study establishes how a cause-and-effect relationship between IV and the DV
-how much are the EV’s being controlled
What is meant by external validity?
Refers to the extent the results can be generalised to other settings
(E.g. real life)
What is meant by ecological validity?
Refers to whether the data is generalisable to the real world
What is meant by population validity?
Describes how well the sample can be generalised to a population as a whole
Which “type” of people are often used in experiments that reduce the population validity of the study?
‘Weird’ people
-white / educated / industrialised / rich / education
What is meant by temporal validity?
Refers to whether the findings are still valid today
(E.g. changes in attitude towards gender roles over time could lower the temporal validity of data from the past studies about gender)
What is meant by construct validity?
Refers to the degree to which a test measures what it claims, or purports to be measuring
(E.g. how effectively does a mood self-assessment for depression really measure the construct of depression?)