Validity

Question 1

what is validity?

Answer 1

refers to whether a psychological test, observation, experiment produces a result that is legitimate/ genuine

this includes whether the researcher has managed to measure what they intended to measure (internal validity)

and the extent the findings can be generalised beyond research setting (external validity)

• studied/ measures can produce data that is reliable not valid (e.g. incorrect rule may give a consistent measure but it is not true to real length)

Question 2

what is internal validity?

Answer 2

whether effects observed in experiment are due to manipulation of the independent variable and not something else

• a major threat to internal validity is if participants respond to demand characteristics

Question 3

what is external validity?

Answer 3

whether the findings generalise to other settings/ other populations and other areas

Question 4

what is ecological validity?

Answer 4

type of external validity - generalising the findings from one study to other settings (in particular everyday life)

if the task used to measure the dependant variable is an experiment not like everyday life (low mundane realism) this has lower ecological validity

Question 5

what is temporal validity?

Answer 5

the issue of whether findings from a particular study/ concepts in a particular theory are true over time

e.g. some theories (like Freud’s ) are very outdated.

Question 6

what is face validity?

Answer 6

whether a test/ scale/ measure appears to measure what it is supposed to measure

Question 7

what is concurrent validity?

Answer 7

concurrent validity of a particular test or scale is demonstrated when the results are very close/ match those of a well established test

this is indicated when the two sets of data exceed +80

Question 8

how can validity be improved in experiments?

Answer 8

using a control group - researcher can better assess whether changes in the dependent variable were due to the effect of the independent variable

also standardising procedures - minimising the impact of participant reactivity and investigator effects on the validity outcome.

using single blind and double blind procedures - reduce effects of demand characteristics

Question 9

how can validity be improved in questionnaires?

Answer 9

many questionnaires incorporate a lie scale to assess the consistency of a respondent’s response and to control effects of social desirability bias.

also having all data submitted being anonymous

Question 10

observations - improving validity?

Answer 10

observations may produce findings with high ecological findings as there may be minimal intervention with the researcher

this is in particular in covert observations (behaviour is likely to be natural and authentic)

behavioural categories that are too broad/ overlapping/ ambiguous have negative impact on data collected.

Question 11

improving qualitative research validity?

Answer 11

qualitative methods are usually thought of having higher ecological validity than quantitative

because the depth and detail associated with case studies and interviews better reflects a participants reality

But - a researcher may still have to demonstrate the interpretive validity (the extent to which the researcher’s interpretation of events matched that of their participants)

this can be demonstrated through coherence of researcher’s narrative and inclusion of direct quotes from participants in the report e.g. data compiled through interviews with friends, family, personal diaries and observations