Research Methods Y2 - Validity Flashcards
What is the definition of validity in psychology?
Validity is the extent to which an observed effect is genuine – does it measure what it was supposed to measure, and can it be generalized beyond the research setting within which it was found?
What is face validity?
Face validity is a basic form of validity in which a measure is scrutinized to determine whether it appears to measure what it is supposed to measure – for instance, does a test of anxiety look like it measures anxiety?
What is concurrent validity?
Concurrent validity is the extent to which a psychological measure relates to an existing similar measure.
What is ecological validity?
Ecological validity is the extent to which findings from a research study can be generalized to other settings and situations. It is a form of external validity.
What is temporal validity?
Temporal validity is the extent to which findings from a research study can be generalized to other historical times and eras. It is a form of external validity.
What does internal validity refer to?
Internal validity refers to whether the effects observed in an experiment are due to the manipulation of the independent variable and not some other factor. One major threat to internal validity is if participants respond to demand characteristics and act in a way that they think is expected.
What example demonstrates internal validity being questioned?
An example is Milgram’s obedience study, where participants may have been ‘playing along’ with the experimental situation and did not really believe they were administering shocks, i.e., they responded to the demands of the situation.
What does external validity refer to?
External validity refers to factors outside of the investigation, such as generalizing to other settings, other populations of people, and other eras.
How is ecological validity different from external validity?
Ecological validity concerns generalizing findings from one setting to another, particularly to ‘everyday life,’ whereas external validity considers broader generalizations, such as to other populations and eras.
What does temporal validity address in research?
Temporal validity addresses whether findings from a study can be generalized to other historical times and eras. An example of a lack of temporal validity is studies of conformity during McCarthyism in the 1950s, as findings may not reflect behavior in modern society.
How can validity be assessed using face validity?
Face validity is assessed when a test, scale, or measure appears ‘on the face of it’ to measure what it is supposed to measure. This can be determined by simply eyeballing the measure or by passing it to an expert to check.
What does concurrent validity assess, and how is it measured?
Concurrent validity assesses whether a particular test or scale produces results similar to those obtained on another well-established test. This is indicated if the correlation between the two sets of scores exceeds +.80.
How can validity in experimental research be improved?
Validity in experimental research can be improved by using a control group to assess changes in the dependent variable due to the independent variable, implementing single-blind and double-blind procedures to reduce demand characteristics and investigator effects, and ensuring strict control over extraneous variables.
How can the validity of questionnaires be improved?
Validity of questionnaires can be improved by incorporating a lie scale within the questions to assess the consistency of a respondent’s responses and by ensuring responses remain anonymous to control for the effects of social desirability bias.
What steps improve the validity of observational research?
Observational research validity can be improved by having behavioral categories that are well-defined, properly operationalized, and free from overlap or ambiguity. Covert observations may also improve validity by ensuring participants behave naturally and authentically.
