Methodological issues Flashcards
Validity
The idea of ensuring research measures what it aims to measure, the study is ACCURATE
Making sure it measures how the IV affects the DV
Validity can fall under what categories?
Internal
External
Internal validity
Whether the test itself accurately measures what it intends to
Internal validity has what types of validity under it?
Face validity
Concurrent validity
Criterion validity
Construct validity
Construct validity
Ensuring the study measures what the researcher says it’s measuring and not measuring an extraneous variables’ affect (environmental or participant variables)
Face validity
How accurately the research looks to be testing what it’s meant to test at face value
Criterion validity
How much one measure predicts the value of future performance/ behaviour in a different test
Concurrent validity
When a test/research gives the same results as another study/ measuring device which is measuring same behaviour or concept
External validity
Whether research can be generalised to different people or situations
External validity has what types of validity fall under it?
Population validity
Ecological validity
Ecological validity
Considers whether the experiment resembles real life so participants show naturalistic behaviour to how someone would act irl
Ensures we are measuring how real people act
Population validity
How accurately the test or study measures behaviour in the general population
Thus can be generalised to the rest of the population
The benefit of ensuring a study is ecologically valid?
So behaviour is naturalistic and can therefore be translated to real life
What is the benefit of ensuring a study is population validity?
Ensures we can measure how the rest of population may respond
What is the benefit of ensuring a study has construct validity?
So the research is an actual measure of what it set out to measure
Social desirability bias
When participants behave in a way which is based on society’s norms to appear as a better person
Demand characteristics
Bias in research caused by participants guessing the aim of the study and increase pd behaviour accordingly to aid the researcher
Reliability
Refers to consistency of research and findings: if it shows a consistent effect
Internal reliability
If the research is reliable within the study by the variables consistently measuring the same concepts
And having a large enough sample to show consistent effect
External reliability
How a test can be repeated over time to give consistent results because the procedure has been standardised so it is replicable
Observer bias
When observers can project their own interpretations when observing behaviour so it is measured subjectively than objectively
Inter rater reliability
2 observers rate and observe the same behaviour which their scores are correlated to decrease subjectivity
Inter rater reliability over 80 = good
How can we make sure a study is ecologically valid?
Conduct experiment in the field (real life setting)
Complete task usually done in real life
Split half reliability
(Survey) Compare the results of questions of one half of the study to results of questions of other half of study
To ensure that they are consistent in their results
Test-retest reliability
When we repeat the study on the same participants later on to ensure we obtain consistent results from last time
