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Validity. Internal validity: Are the methods correct and the results accurate? External validity: are the findings generalizable beyond that particular study?. Measurement Validity.
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Validity • Internal validity: Are the methods correct and the results accurate? • External validity: are the findings generalizable beyond that particular study?
Measurement Validity • validity: the extent to which the method of measurement reflects the true meaning of a concept being investigated • example: Do tests really measure what student learning? • Example: Do college GPAs accurately predict on the job success? • content validity: a scale should measure the true meaning of the concept being studied • example: GCS (General Contentment Scale) should measure depression, not self esteem
measurement validity--continued • face validity (representational validity): whether a measuring instrument appears to be valid to the persons completing it. • example: African Americans take a history test, but all of the questions were written by Euro-Americans about European history. • concurrent validity (a.k.a convergent validity): Do the results from one measure correspond with those of related measures? • example: scores on a communication anxiety scale should coincide with scores on a communication apprehension scale
measurement validity--continued • discriminant validity: a measuring instrument should not covary with other instruments measuring different concepts • criterion validity: how well a measure predicts another established criterion • example: Do a person’s reported income predict his or her credit score? • example: “need for cognition” versus “argumentativeness” • construct validity: a measure should fit well with other measures of similar theoretical concepts. • example: scores on a “marital satisfaction” scale should be negatively related to spouse abuse.
measurement validity--continued • predictive validity: can a measure predict future behavior? • example: Does the Suicide Probability Scale accurately predict which adolescents are likely to attempt suicide?