Research methods - Reliability and Validity

Question 1

Internal reliability

Answer 1

• different parts of the test should give consistent results
• e.g. if an IQ test contains sections of supposedly equal difficulty, participants should achieve similar scores for all sections

Question 2

External reliability

Answer 2

• the test should produce consistent results regardless of when it’s used
• e.g. if you took the same IQ test on 2 different days you should achieve the same score

Question 3

Inter-observer

Answer 3

• test should give consistent results regardless of who administers it
• e.g. if 2 researchers observe behaviour and categorise infants as showing signs of a strong attachment or a weak attachment, they should both record the same score

Question 4

Face validity

Answer 4

The extent to which the test looks, to the participants, like it will measure what it is supposed to be measuring

Question 5

Concurrent validity

Answer 5

The extent to which the test produces the same results as another established measure
- e.g. 2 different IQ tests should produce the same measure of IQ Inferential tests can be used to determine whether both measures are highly correlated, and therefore valid

Question 6

Ecological validity

Answer 6

The extent to which the results of the test reflect real-life

Question 7

Temporal validity

Answer 7

The extent to which the test provides results that can be generalised across time

Question 8

Improve reliability - standardising research

Answer 8

• creating scientific procedures
• all participants are tested in the exact same way
• improve external validity and inter-observer reliability

Question 9

Improve reliability - operationalising variables

Answer 9

• involves clearly defining all of the research variables
• improves reliability and validity of the test