reliability and validity

Question 1

what is validity?

Answer 1

how accurate the results of an experiment or test are- does it actually measure what it claims to measure?

Question 2

what is reliability?

Answer 2

the consistency/ agreement of the measuring device

to be reliable, the research needs to be repeatable and achieve the same results on another occasion

Question 3

how do we improve validity and reliability?

Answer 3

1. standardized instructions
2. carefully controlled procedures
3. reducing confounding/ extraneous variables
4. using a non-biased sample

Question 4

how do we assess reliability?

Answer 4

1) Test-retest reliability; a test is taken on two occasions and results correlated
2) Inter-observer reliability; a way of assessing reliability of observations or content analysis- observers independently rate the observation. Results are correlated to see if they agree.

Question 5

what are the different types of validity?

Answer 5

internal
external- branches into the following;
ecological
temporal
population

Question 6

what is internal validity?

Answer 6

does the study measure what it intends to measure

Question 7

what is external validity?

Answer 7

do the results of the study relate to situations outside of the research situation

Question 8

what is ecological validity?

Answer 8

can results be generalised to other places/ situations

Question 9

what is temporal validity?

Answer 9

can results be generalised to other times in history

Question 10

what is population validity?

Answer 10

can the results be generalised to other people

Question 11

if a question is asking you about how to improve the internal validity, what is it technically asking you?

Answer 11

control of extraneous variables