A2 RESEARCH METHODS - Types of Validity

Question 1

Internal/experimental validity

Answer 1

The extent to which a piece of evidence supports a claim about cause and effect within the context of a particular study

Question 2

What are the factors that can reduce internal/experimental validity

Answer 2

Investigator effects
Demand characteristics
Confounding variables
Social desirability bias
Lack of operationalisation

Question 3

Investigator effects

Answer 3

When a researcher unconsciously influences the outcome of any research they are conducting

Question 4

Demand characteristics

Answer 4

When a participant guesses the aim of a study and changes their behaviour according to it

Question 5

Confounding variables

Answer 5

Variables that aren’t accounted for that have influenced the outcome of a study

Question 6

Social desirability bias

Answer 6

When participants respond to a task based on social preferability than actual beliefs or views

Question 7

Lack of operationalisation

Answer 7

When it isn’t clear how key concepts or variables are defined and measured

Question 8

Methods to assess internal validity

Answer 8

concurrent and face validity

Question 9

Concurrent validity

Answer 9

A method of checking the internal validity of a new test by comparing the scores gained with older, more established tests and getting a correlation coefficient of above +0.8

Question 10

Face validity

Answer 10

Measuring if the test/measuring instrument is measuring what it should. Multiple experts can look at a test and looking ‘on the face of it’ determine whether the questions appear to be measuring what they are supposed to.

Question 11

How can concurrent validity be improved

Answer 11

If low concurrent validity is found on a questionnaire for example, then the researcher could remove questions that seem irrelevant or ambiguous.

Question 12

How can face validity be improved

Answer 12

In the context of a questionnaire, an expert can determine if questions used are irrelevant and adapt or remove them to make them more relevant.

Question 13

How can investigator effects be reduced

Answer 13

conduct a double-blind experiment technique

Question 14

how can demand characteristics be reduced

Answer 14

Use deception and hide the aim of the study from participants

Question 15

How can confounding variables be reduced

Answer 15

randomisation, restriction and matching

Question 16

External validity

Answer 16

the extent to which the findings of a study can be generalised to other situations

Question 17

What are the types of external validity

Answer 17

ecological and temporal validity

Question 18

Ecological validity

Answer 18

the extent to which the findings of a study can be generalised to real life

Question 19

Temporal validity

Answer 19

the extent to which the findings of a study can be generalised to other time periods

Question 20

How can external validity be assessed

Answer 20

Meta analysis

Consider environment of study (lab vs natural)

Check the way a variable is measured

Check if pps were behaving as naturally as possible (demand characteristics)

Question 21

How can external validity be improved

Answer 21

Reduce demand characteristics (double or single blind technique)

Change study environment (more natural setting e.g. filed experiment and covert observation)