Validity

Question 1

What is validity?

Answer 1

• Validity is whether a psychological test, observation, experiment produces a result that is legitimate
• This includes if it is internally and externally valid

Question 2

What is internal validity?

Answer 2

• Whether the effects observed in an experiment are due to the manipulation of the independent variable and not other factors
• One major threat to internal validity is if participants respond to demand characteristics and act in a way that they think is expected.

Question 3

What is external validity?

Answer 3

• External validity is whether an investigation can be generalised to other settings, populations or eras
• One type is ecological validity which concerns the ability to generalise the findings of a study to other settings, this is normally everyday life
• However ecological validity is not just to do with setting but concerns the task at hand and whether it is realistic or artificial

Question 4

What is temporal validity?

Answer 4

• Temporal validity is whether findings from a particular study or concepts within a particular theory, hold truth over time
• Critics have said this about ASCH who studied conforming in the 1950s, which may not be valid or up to date

Question 5

What are ways to assess validity?

Answer 5

• One is face validity: this is whether a test, scale or measure appears to be on the face on what it is supposed to measure. This can be done by eyeballing measuring instruments or passing it to an expert to check
• Concurrent validity: This is demonstrated when results obtained are close or match those obtained by another, well - established test. This is indicated when correlations between the two sets exceed +0.80

Question 6

How do you improve the validity of experiments?

Answer 6

• Using a control group: the researcher is able to assess whether changes in the dependent variable is due to the effect of the independent variable
• Standardise: Standardising procedures can minimise the impact of participant reactivity, investigator effects.
• Also using single -blind and double - blind procedures. This is because single - blind procedures are done so participants are not aware of the aims of the experiment, to reduce demand characteristics. In a double - blind, a third party conducts the investigation and does not know the aims, this reduces demand characteristics and investigator effects

Question 7

How do you improve the validity of questionnaires?

Answer 7

• Many questionnaires incoparate a lie scale to assess the consistency of response and to control social - desirability bias
• Valdity can also be ensured by keeping respondents anonymous

Question 8

How do you improve the validity of observations?

Answer 8

• Observations that are covert often have high ecological validity as the environment is natural and authentic
• In addition, behavioural categories that are too broad, overlapping or ambiguous may have a negative impact on validity

Question 9

How do you improve the validity of qualitative research?

Answer 9

• Qualitative research is said to have higher ecological validity as it has more depth and detail
• However, a researcher may still need to demonstrate interpretive validity to match to participants
• This can be demonstrated by using coherence of a researchers narrative to direct quotes from participants
• Validity can be enhanced through triangulation - the use of different sources as evidence, for example diaries and observations