Validity

Question 1

Define validity

Answer 1

Weather something measures what it is supposed to measure

Question 2

Define internal validity

Answer 2

The extent to which changes in a DVR legitimately caused by a change in an IV, or is it by some other extraneous variable

Question 3

Define external validity

Answer 3

The extent to which the findings of a study can be legitimately generalised beyond the setting of a study

Question 4

What are the issues of internal validity

Answer 4

• demand characteristics
• researcher bias
• social desirability
• test is inaccurate

Question 5

Describe demand characteristics & how they’re overcome

Answer 5

• ppts guess the aim of the study & change the natural course of behaviour in order to help the researcher obtain favourable results
• overcome with: single blind study (do not inform ppts the aim of the study, or take measures to ensure they do not guess the aim of the study such as adding bogus activities)

Question 6

Describe researcher bias & how it’s overcome

Answer 6

• A research is interpretations of behaviour, or the way they set up the study may be biased to support their hypothesis
• overcome with: double blind study (ensure the research are collecting the data and the participants do not know the aim or hypothesis therefore restricting bias in interpretation)

Question 7

Describe social desirability & how it’s overcome

Answer 7

• ppts will change answers or natural course of behaviour in order to present themselves in more socially acceptable ways
• overcome with: ensure confidentiality (if ppts believe that their behaviours or responses cannot be attributed to them, they will more likely be truthful)

Question 8

Describe an inaccurate test & how it can be overcome

Answer 8

• The measure used in the study does not measure the desired behaviour e.g. an IQ test that measures solely mathematical ability
• overcome with: pilot study (ensure test is accurate by trialling it with a focus group, then consult with ppts & make changes as needed)

Question 9

How do researchers assess validity

Answer 9

Using CCCFP

Question 10

What does CCCFP stand for

Answer 10

• content validity - use an independent expert to assess the content of the study
• concurrent validity - Compare testing study to one that is already seen as valid (same people do both tests)
• construct validity - use a construct ( theory/idea) to establish if a test is legitimate
• face validity - The researcher looks at their test to see if it appears to measure what it claims to measure
• predictive - researcher makes predictions of the outcome of the task, then compares to actual findings

Question 11

What are the issues of external validity

Answer 11

Ecological validity and population validity

Question 12

What is ecological validity & how are issues overcome

Answer 12

• The extent to which findings of a study can be generalised to real life settings, often a problem for laboratory studies
• overcome by: designed the study to be carried out in real life, settings, field studies or natural experiments

Question 13

What is population validity & how can it be overcome

Answer 13

• The extent to which the findings from the study can be generalised to the target population, usually an issue where there are small or biased sample groups
• overcome by: carrying out the study on different groups of people or increasing the size of the sample group