Validity Flashcards
What is validity?
If a test measures what it claims to measure
What is internal validity ?
Internal validity refers to whether the effects observed in a study are due to the manipulation of the independent variable and not some other factor
How can you improve internal validity ? (5)
- controlling extraneous variables
- using standardized instructions
- counter balancing
- eliminating demand characteristics
- decreasing investigator effect
What is external validity ?
External validity refers to the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized
What are the different types of external validity?
- ecological
- population
- historical
What is ecological validity?
extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other settings
What is historical validity
extent to which the results of a study can be generalized over time
What is population validity ?
extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to different groups of people
How can external validity be improved ?
setting experiments in a more natural setting and using random sampling to select participants.
What are the two main categories to assess validity ?
Content related :
appropriate content
Criterion related:
Relationship to other measures
What are the two types of content related measures that can be used to assess validity
Face validity
Construct validity
What are the two types of criterion related measures that can be used to assess validity
Concurrent validity
Predictive validity
What is face validity ?
Face validity is simply whether the test appears (at face value) to measure what it claims to
How would you measure face validity ?
asking people to rate the validity of a test as it appears to them. This rater could use a likert scale to assess face validity
What is construct validity ?
Construct Validity refers to the ability of a measurement tool (e.g., a survey, test, etc) to actually measure the psychological concept being studied
