Validity

Question 1

validity

Answer 1

the extent to which an observer effect is genuine
therefore not down to fluke/extraneous variables

Question 2

internal validity

Answer 2

to do with effects inside the experiment (procedures), change caused by IV not any other factor (confounding/extraneous variables, pp variables, demand characteristics, investigator bias)

Question 3

external validity

Answer 3

to with factors outside of the experiment (generalisability to other settings)
- 3 types of external validity: ecological validity, temporal validity, population validity

Question 4

ecological validity

Answer 4

extent to which findings can be generalised to other situations and setting

Question 5

temporal validity

Answer 5

generalisability to other historical times and eras

Question 6

population validity

Answer 6

generalisability to different populations of various ages, genders, cultures

Question 7

ways of assessing validity

Answer 7

3 types: face validity, concurrent validity, predictive validity

Question 8

face validity

Answer 8

whether it appears to measure what it is supposed to (is it assessing what it’s supposed to)

Question 9

concurrent validity

Answer 9

demonstrated when results obtained from multiple texts/experiments are concordant (above 0.8)

Question 10

predictive validity

Answer 10

measure can predict behaviour or criteria measured at a time in the future
e.g. GCSE’s predict A-Level’s

Question 11

improving internal validity

Answer 11

standardised procedures
testing and practice effects
demand characteristics (blind/double blind studies)
controlling extraneous variables to determine causal relationship

Question 12

improving external validity

Answer 12

checking tasks for mundane realism

Question 13

improving validity of questionnaires

Answer 13

lie scales: assess consistency of responses given
controls for social desirability using lie scales
stating data is anonymous = greater likelihood of honest results

Question 14

improving validity of observations

Answer 14

making behavioural categories unambiguous, don’t overlap, understandable
using covert observations: most natural/authentic results - prevents demand characteristics

Question 15

improving validity of qualitative methods

Answer 15

using case studies/interviews = greater ecological validity
triangulation method = using different experimental methods (diaries/interviews/observations)
face validity used to assess