Validity

Question 1

What is validity?

Answer 1

• The extent to which an observed event (test, observation, experiment) is genuine

Question 2

What are the 4 key types of validity?

Answer 2

• Face validity
• Concurrent validity
• Ecological validity
• Temporal validity

Question 3

What is internal validity?

Answer 3

• Refers to whether the effects observed are due to manipulation of the independent variable and not another factor
• (Threat to internal validity= demand characteristics)

Question 4

What is external validity?

Answer 4

• Relates to factors outside of the investigation, e.g: generalising to other situations, other populations or areas

Question 5

What is ecological validity?

Answer 5

• The extent to which findings from a research study can be generalised to other settings and situations (external)- ‘everyday life’
• If task used to measure DV is unlike everyday life= low ecological validity
• Look at all aspects of research set-up to decide whether findings can be generalised

Question 6

What is temporal validity?

Answer 6

• The extent to which findings from a research study can be generalised to other historical times and eras (external)- ‘hold true over time’

Question 7

What are the 2 key ways of assessing validity?

Answer 7

• Face validity
• Concurrent validity

Question 7

What is face validity?

Answer 7

• A measure is scrutinised to determine whether it appears to measure what it is supposed to
• Face validity can be determined by eyeballing measuring instrument or passing it off to an expert to check

Question 8

What is concurrent validity?

Answer 8

• The extent to which a psychological measure relates to an existing measure
• Demonstrated when results are very close to those obtained on another well-established test
• Close agreement between data sets indicates high concurrent validity (if correlation exceeds +.8)

Question 9

How to improve validity of experiments?

Answer 9

• Use control group to assess whether changes in DV are due to effect of IV
• Standardised procedures minimise impact of participant reactivity and investigator effects
• Use of single and double-blind procedures reduce demand characteristics and investigator effects

Question 10

How to improve validity of questionnaires?

Answer 10

• Incorporate a lie scale to assess consistency of responses and to control for effects of social desirability bias
• Anonymity of data (people will be more truthful)

Question 11

How to improve validity of observations?

Answer 11

• Minimal intervention by researcher (high ecological validity due to natural and authentic behaviour)
• Establish behavioural categories (ensure they are not: too broad, overlapping or ambiguous)

Question 12

How to improve validity of qualitative research?

Answer 12

• Depth and detail of case studies and interviews reflect participants’ realities (high ecological validity)
• Interpretive validity (extent to which researcher’s interpretation of events matches that of participants)- coherence of researcher’s narrative and direct quotes
• Triangulation