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All 12 Flashcards — Validity
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Question
What is validity?
Answer
Whether a measure or study actually captures what it claims to measure.
Question
What is construct validity?
Answer
Whether the measure captures the actual concept, not something else.
Question
What is internal validity?
Answer
Whether an effect is really due to what the researcher changed, and not to something else.
Question
What is ecological validity?
Answer
Whether findings apply to real-life settings, not only to the laboratory.
Question
Reliability or validity?
Answer
Reliability: consistent. Validity: measuring the right thing.
Question
Give an example of low construct validity.
Answer
Measuring "intelligence" by how fast people click a mouse. That captures reaction time, not intelligence.
Question
What is the trade-off between control and real life?
Answer
Tight control protects internal validity, but it can make the setting artificial and lower ecological validity.
Question
How do you threaten internal validity?
Answer
A confound — another variable that could explain the effect (e.g. no control group).
Question
Can a study be reliable but not valid?
Answer
Yes — it can give consistent results while measuring the wrong thing.
Question
What does "valid" not mean?
Answer
It is not a general word for "good". Say which validity you mean and what threatens it.
Question
Face validity vs content validity?
Answer
Face = looks right on the surface; content = covers every part of the concept.
Question
What is external validity?
Answer
Whether results apply beyond the study: other people, settings and times.
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Topic 1.4 hub
Measurement
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Psychology exam skills
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