Key terminology Flashcards
What is internal validity?
The study measures what it intends to measure (as confounding variables have been controlled and will not affect the results).
What is external validity?
How well the study reflects real life, and if it can be applied to different places, times and people.
What are the three issues of validity?
Social desirability, demand characteristics and researcher bias.
What is social desirability bias?
Participants change their behaviour or give a response that they think will reflect them in the best light, meaning that the results are skewed as this is not an accurate representation of their behaviour.
What are demand characteristics?
Participants unconsciously work out the aim of the study and behave differently.
What is researcher bias?
The researcher directly/indirectly influences the results of a study, through the process of designing the study or through the way the research is conducted.
What are the five ways of assessing validity?
Face validity, predictive validity, content validity, concurrent validity and construct validity.
What is face validity?
Whether the test appears (at face value) to measure what it claims to. Can be done by asking a lay person (ordinary person) whether they think the study is a good way of testing the desired phenomenon.
What is predictive validity?
The degree to which a test accurately forecasts a future outcome on a more broadly related topic. For example, do GCSE results predict how well someone will do in their A-levels?
What is content validity?
Objectively checking whether the method of measuring behaviour is accurate, and decides whether it is a fair test that achieves the aims of the study. The easiest way to do this is to ask an expert.
What is concurrent validity?
Comparing a measure with an already established measure that is known to have validity. If the results of both the old test and new test are similar, then the new test has validity. If not, then the new test has to be redesigned.
What is construct validity?
Looking at whether the overall results reflect the phenomena as a whole. It is done by checking the existing definitions of the behaviour and designing the test to make sure it takes into account all factors.
How can you deal with issues of validity?
Double blind procedure and single blind procedure.
What is a double bind procedure?
Neither the researcher conducting the study or the participants know the true aims of the study.
What is a single bind procedure?
The participants are unaware of the aims (hypothesis) of the study until after their role is complete.
