Validity Flashcards
What is meant by ‘internal validity’
Refers to the extent to which a study accurately measures the causal relationship between variables and minimizes confounding factors or alternative explanations within the research design.
(does it measure what it sets out to)
What is meant by ‘external validity’
Refers to the generalizability of research findings beyond the specific context or sample used in the study e.g., to other populations, settings, or situations, and the real-world applicability and relevance of the research.
Describe the following definitions of issues of validity:
Researcher Bias
Demand Characteristics
Social desirability bias
Researcher bias - Researcher bias occurs when the researcher’s beliefs or expectations influence the research design or data collection process.
Demand characteristics – Parts of the study which could result in the participants being able to guess what the experiment is about and changing their behaviour to appear desirable rather than acting naturally.
Social desirability bias – The affect of people unnaturally altering their behaviour to appear desirable in research.
What are the ways of dealing with issues of Validity (4 ways)
Researcher bias can be overcome with a double blind procedure.
This is where neither the researcher collecting the data, or the participants know the true aims of the study. This also reduces demand characteristics.
Social desirability and demand characteristics can also be overcome via a single blind procedures. This involves the participants being unaware of the research aim until after their role is complete.
Alternatively, the use of independent groups design would reduce these validity issues as there is less chance for participants to guess the aim of the study.
The final way is by giving participants anonymity and confidentiality when they give their answers you can also increase validity as if they know they cant be linked back to their answers they are more likely to be truthful.
What are the 5 different ways of Assessing Validity
Face
Construct
Content
Concurrent
Predictive
What is Face Validity?
how much at face-value the research measures what it intended to measure. (least sophisticated type of validity)
What is Content Validity?
Looks at the method of measurement and deciding whether it measures the intended content such as all the key aspects of a topic and not just one.
What is Concurrent Validity?
Uses two different measures and see if the results match.
What is Construct Validity?
Measures if the questions are relevant to the topic at hand.
What is Predictive Validity?
Do the scores on a test predict what you would expect them to predict.
E.G People who score high on stress questionnaires have higher blood pressure.
