RESEARCH METHODS - validity Flashcards
what is validity
extent to which an observed effect is genuine
what is validity
extent to which an observed effect is genuine
does it measure what it’s supposed to
can it be generlasied beyond research setting whihc its found
its possible for studies and measures to produce a reliable data thats not
valid
give example of relable data thats not valid
broken set of scales gives consistent reading of someones weight
but weight reported isnt true so measurement lacks validity
what is internal validity
whetehr effects observed in an experimetn are due to teh manipulation of teh IV and not some other factor
a major threat to internal validity of a study is if
participants respond to deamnd charcateristics and act in a way they think is expected
why have people questioned internal validity of milgram study
pt may have been playing along with experimental situation and didnt really believ ethey were adminstering shocks - so they responsed to demands of situation , obeyed cause thought wasant real
why have people questioned internal validity of milgram study
pt may have been playing along with experimental situation and didnt really believ ethey were adminstering shocks - so they responsed to demands of situation , obeyed cause thought wasant real
whats external validity
measure of whether data can be generalised to other situations outside of the research environment they were originally gathered in.
ecological validity is what type of validity
external
what is ecological valididty
extent to whihc findings from a research study can be generalised to other settings and situations - mot ptclry every day life
ecological validity is not abour
naturalness of a study
what is low mundane realsim
if task used to measure dependent varibale in an experiment is not like everyday life
if something has low mundane realsim it has lower
ecological validity
a researcher may give people a list of words to remebre to assess memory and could do this in a shopping mall
what makes the study lakc ecological validity
the fact were usuing a word list
setting doesnt make findings more relaistic
essentially ecological validity is aobut how
wehther studies apply to real world
difference between external validity and ecological validity
external -can study findings be generalised to other contexts
ecological - study findings can be generalized to real-life settings
why must we look at all sorts of sapects of research set up
to decide whether findings can be generalised beyond the particular research settings
what is temporal validity
issue of wehtehr findins from a particular study or concepts within a particular theory hold true over time
why do critics say asch experiment got low temporal validity
high rates of conformity within og asch experimetn were a prodcut of particularly conformist era in recent american history
what 2 concepts an we use to asses validity
face validty
concurrent validity
what is face validity
basic form of validity where a measure is scrutinised to determine whether it appears to measure what its supposed to measure
how can we determine face vaifity
eyeballing the measurement instrument
passing it to an expert to check
what is concurrent validity
extent to whihc a psychological measure relates to an existing similar measure
give exmaple of concurrent validity
new intelligence test may be administeerd to a grou of particpants
iq score they achieve may be compared with their performance on a well established test
in concurrent validity close agreements between 2 sets of data indicate +
how is close agreement indicated
new test has high concurrent validty
correlation between 2 sets of scores exceeds +80
IMPORVING VALIIDITY - EXPERIMENTS - state the 3 ways
contorl groups
standardise procedures
use of single and double blind procedures
IMPORVING VALIIDITY - EXPERIMENTS - how does using a ctrl group imporve validity
researcehr better able to assess wehther changes in DV due to manipulation of IV
IMPORVING VALIIDITY - EXPERIMENTS - give example of ctrl groupimporving validity
effectovness of therapy
ctrl group who didnt recieve therapy means researcehr can have greater confidence
improvement due to effects of therapy rather than pasage of tiem
IMPORVING VALIIDITY - EXPERIMENTS - how do standardised procedures imporve validity
minimise impact of particpant eactivity and investigator affects on validity of otuocme
IMPROVING VALIDITY - EXPERIMENTS - What is aprticpant reactivity
phenomenon responses and or behaviours of pt are affected by their awareness theyre part of a study
i.e demand characterstics , social desirabiliry`
IMPROVING VALIDITY - EXPERIMENTS - singel and double blind triasl minimise impact of
participant reactivity
investigator affects
IMPROVING VALIDITY - EXPERIMENTS - singel and double blind triasl minimise impact of
participant reactivity
investigator affects
on validity of the otucome
IMPROVING VALIDITY - EXPERIMENTS - how do singel and doubel blind trials help reduce paticpant reactivity and investigator effects on validity of the ourcome
SB - pt not aware of aims of study till taken part to reduce effcte od demand charcateristics
DB - 3rd party conduccts investigaiton without knwiing its main purpose reducing demand charctersitics and investigator affects therfore imporving validity
IMPROVING VALIDITY - how can we improve it in questionnaires and psychological tests
incorporate a lie scale
assure repsondents all data submitted will remain anonymous
IMPROVING VALIDITY - how are questionnaires/psych tests improved with lie scale
can assess consistency of a particpants repsonse and control for effects of social desirability bias
observatinoal findings may have highe recological validity why
may be minimal interventino by researcher
espsesh case if observer remains undetected as in covert obsv
meaning behaviour of those observed likely to be naural and authentic
IMPROVING VALIDITY - observations how can we imporve behaviorual categories
dont make em broad (narrow)
overllaping (dont overlap no cuddling and hugging)
ambigious(clear)
if they are cna have negative impact on validity of data collected
IMPROVING VALIDITY - why are qualitative methods of research thought of as having higher ecological validity than more quanititative lessinterpreative research methods
depth and detail associated with case studies and interviews for examples is better able to reflect a pt reality
IMPROVING VALIDITY - in qualitative research a researcher may still have to demonstrate
interpretive validity
IMPROVING VALIDITY - what is interpretive validity in terms of qualitative research
extent to which researchers interpretation of events matches that of their particpants
IMPROVING VALIDITY - how can we show interpretive validity in terms of qualitative research
coherence of researchers narrative and the inclusion of direct quotes from pt within the report
IMPROVING VALIDITY - whats the final way we can ehance validity in qualitative research
triangulation
IMPROVING VALIDITY - qualitative research - whats triangulation
use of a number of differnet sources as evidence
e.g data compiled through interviews with friends and family, perosnal diaries , obsv etc
