Research methods: Valdity And Reloablity Flashcards
Validity def.
The extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to be measuring
Internal validity def
The extent to which the study is measuring what it intends to, whether the effects are genuine
Factors that threaten internal validity
Demand characteristics
Experimenter bias/effects
Social-desirability bias in questionnaire/interview
Lack of standardised procedures and operationalised variables
Poor mundane realism - activities don’t mirror real world, tasks not normal everyday activities
External validity def
Extent to which the findings of a study can be generalised to situations
3 types of external val
Population
Ecological
Temporal
Reliability
Refers to the consistency of a measure, whether u could replicate an experiment and get comparable results
Checking for internal validity
Face validity
Content validity
Concurrent validity
Predictive validity
Face validity
Does it appear to measure what it should
Content validity
Ask experts whether they think the test measures what it should
Concurrent validity
Testing same group of people on this test on an established measure which assesses the same thing and look for pos correlation
Assessing reliability
Inter-observer reliability
Inter-interviewer reliability
Test-retest
Split-half reliability
Inter-observer reliability
Have 2 or more judges to provide rating of behaviour
Look for pos correlation
Inter-interviewer reliability
Compare answers on one occasion with answers from same person w same interviewer a week later
Test retest
Measures where a test is reliable over time. Administering the test twice at 2 different points in time
2 sets of results should give strong pos correlation
Generalisability
Refers to the extent to which findings of a test can represent other situations in real life and be applied to wider target population
