Claims and Validity

Question 1

What are the three types of claims?

Answer 1

Frequency, association, and causal.

Question 2

What are the four validities?

Answer 2

Construct, external, statistical, and internal.

Question 3

What is a variable?

Answer 3

An attribute that varies, having at least two levels, or values.

Question 4

What is a value?

Answer 4

One of the possible variations, or levels, of a variable.

Question 5

What is an example of variables and values?

Answer 5

Stress is the variable, stressed or not stressed is the value.

Question 6

What is a constant?

Answer 6

Something that could potentially vary but that has only one level in the study in question.

Question 7

What are the two types of variables?

Answer 7

Measured (DV) and manipulated (IV).

Question 8

What is a measured variable?

Answer 8

A variable in a study whose levels are observed and recorded. E.g., height, IQ, blood pressure, depression, hair colour, etc.

Question 9

What is a manipulated variable?

Answer 9

A variable in an experiment that researchers control by assigning participants to different levels.

Question 10

What are some examples of variables that can only be measured?

Answer 10

IQ, age, hair colour, etc.

Question 11

What is a claim?

Answer 11

The argument an author or scientist is trying to make.

Question 12

What is a frequency claim?

Answer 12

A claim that describes particular rate or level of a single variable.

Question 13

What is an association claim?

Answer 13

A claim about two variables, in which the level of one variable is said to vary systematically with the level of another variable, such that when one variable changes, the other does too.

Question 14

What is a causal claim?

Answer 14

A claim arguing that a specific change in one variable is responsible for influencing the level of another variable.

Question 15

What distinguishes a frequency claim from association and causal claims?

Answer 15

Frequency claims only involve a single variable.

Question 16

What is an anecdotal claim? Is it the same as a frequency claim?

Answer 16

An anecdotal claim tells an illustrative story about an isolated event, it is NOT the same as a frequency claim.

Question 17

What does it mean to correlate?

Answer 17

To occur or vary together systematically.

Question 18

How many variables do association and causal claims involve?

Answer 18

At least two.

Question 19

What is a curvilinear association?

Answer 19

An association which, as one variable increases, the level of the other variable changes its patterns (such as increasing and then decreasing).

Question 20

What differentiates causal claims from association claims?

Answer 20

Causal claims use more causal language, claiming a direct relationship between two variables.

Question 21

What is construct validity?

Answer 21

A measure of how well a variable was measured or manipulated during a study.

Question 22

How does one ensure construct validity?

Answer 22

The researcher must establish that each variable has been measured reliably, and that differing levels of a variable accurately correspond to true differences.

Question 23

What is external validity?

Answer 23

A measure of how well there results of a study generalize to, or represent, individuals or contexts besides those in the study itself.

Question 24

What is generalizability?

Answer 24

The extent to which the subjects in a study represent the populations they are intended to represent or how well the settings in a study represent other settings or contexts.

Question 25

How does one interrogate the external validity of association claims?

Answer 25

By asking whether the association in question can generalize to other populations, as well as contexts, times, or places.

Question 26

What is statistical validity?

Answer 26

The extent to which statistical conclusions derived from a study are accurate and reasonable.

Question 27

What is a Type I error?

Answer 27

Mistakenly concluding that there is an association when in fact there is none. (False alarm)

Question 28

What is a Type II error?

Answer 28

Mistakenly concluding that there is no association when in fact there is one. (A miss)

Question 29

What is the statistical significance of an an association?

Answer 29

The probability that the association was due to chance alone.

Question 30

What are the three rules for causation?

Answer 30

Covariance, temporal precedence, and internal validity.

Question 31

What is covariance?

Answer 31

The proposed causal variable must vary systematically with changes in the proposed outcome variable.

Question 32

What is temporal precedence?

Answer 32

The proposed casual variable comes first in time, before the proposed outcome variable.

Question 33

What is internal validity?

Answer 33

The ability to rule out alternative explanations for the causal relationship between two variables.

Question 34

What is an experiment?

Answer 34

A study in which one variable is manipulated and the other is measured.

Question 35

What is used to explain the variance in the criterion variable?

Answer 35

A regression analysis.

Question 36

What can experiments provide that other studies cannot always provide?

Answer 36

Temporal precedence, random assignment, and control for internal validity.

Question 37

Can all four validities be satisfied all the time?

Answer 37

No, scientists weigh the pros and cons of research choices and decide which are most important for the goals of the study.

Question 38

What types of validity do frequency claims need?

Answer 38

Construct and external.

Question 39

What types of validity do association claims need?

Answer 39

Construct, external, and statistical.

Question 40

What types of validity do causal claims need?

Answer 40

All four would be nice, but it is not realistic.