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Principles of Research and Application of Research Methods

Validity: internal validity and external validity

  • 3 things to know
  • AS Unit 2

Overview

Recall questions on validity, internal validity, external validity, ecological validity and population validity.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Evaluation

Define validity and external validity.

Key term

Define external validity.

Key term

Name three things findings must generalise to for a study to have external validity.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What is meant by validity?

    Model answer

    Validity is whether a study or a measure genuinely tests what it claims to test, so that the findings are legitimate.

  2. 2

    Define internal validity.

    Model answer

    Internal validity is the extent to which the results are genuinely caused by the manipulation of the independent variable rather than by some other factor or a flaw in the measure.

  3. 3

    Define external validity.

    Model answer

    External validity is the extent to which the findings of a study can be generalised beyond the study itself.

  4. 4

    Name three things findings must generalise to for a study to have external validity.

    Model answer

    Other people, other settings and other periods of time.

  5. 5

    What is ecological validity?

    Model answer

    It is the extent to which findings can be generalised to real-life settings and everyday tasks beyond the situation in which the research took place.

  6. 6

    What is population validity?

    Model answer

    The extent to which findings from a sample can be generalised to the wider target population from which it was drawn.

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