WS6: Reliability & Validity

Question 0

1. What is external validity?
2. What threatens it?
3. How do we establish it?

Answer 0

1. The degree to which the results of a study can be generalized outside the specific confines of a study
2. Any feature that limits generalization. Eg unique Ss may not generalize to other Ss; study features/definitions may not generalize to other studies; specific measures may not generalize to other measures
3. Replication, extension

Question 1

1. What is internal validity?
2. What threatens it?
3. How do we establish it?

Answer 1

1. The degree to which a study allows only one, unambiguous explanation for the results
2. Confounds: Anything that provides an alternative explanation of the results e.g. Time of day in attention study
3. Control & manipulation

Question 2

What is convergent validity?

Answer 2

Demonstrated by a strong rship b/w the scores obtained from two different methods of measuring the same construct

Question 3

What is concurrent validity?

Answer 3

Demonstrated when scores obtained from a new measure are directly related to scores obtained from an established measure of the same variable

Question 4

What is discriminant validity?

Answer 4

Demonstrated when measurements that are supposed to be unrelated are, in fact, unrelated; can also involve discriminating groups eg diagnosis

Question 5

What is test-retest reliability?

Answer 5

Established by comparing scores on two successive measures of the same individual