Evaluating Studies:

Validity
Construct Validity
the degree to which a test measures what it claims, or purports, to be measuring

Internal Validity
is the extent to which a causal conclusion based on a study is warranted

Face validity: the degree to which a procedure, especially a psychological test or assessment,
appears effective in terms of its stated aims

External Validity
the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and to other people

Ecological Validity
the extent to which the findings of a research study are able to be generalized to real-life settings

Cross-cultural Validity
The research relevant to other cultures

Reliability
Inter-rater reliability
the degree of agreement among raters

Test-retest reliability
The ability to reliably replicate the result more than once in the same situation and population

Credibility (qualitative)
the quality of being trusted and believed in

Bias
Researcher Bias
a process where the scientists performing the research influence the results, in order to portray a
certain outcome.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Demand characteristics/participant bias

- Social desirability
• a type of response bias that is the tendency of survey respondents to answer questions in a
manner that will be viewed favorably by others

- Hawthorne Effect
• the alteration of behaviour by the subjects of a study due to their awareness of being
observed

- Screw-you effect
• happens when people get discouraged or angry. They try to rile up the experimenter by
screwing up their experiment

Sample Bias

Representative sample
a small quantity of something that accurately reflects the larger entity
Participant variability
the extent to which participants may share a common set of traits that can bias the outcome of the
study

6 Human Ethical Considerations

Informed consent -
permission granted in full knowledge of the possible consequences

Deception -
the act of making someone believe something that is not true

Debriefing -
a meeting that takes place in order to get information about a particular piece of work that has
been finished

Withdrawal from study -

leave a research study at any time

Confidentiality -
the state of keeping or being kept secret or private

Protection from physical or mental harm -

To ensure that those taking part in research will not be caused distress

DUMBCAT
Design considerations,
Uncertainty
Methodological considerations,
Biases,
Contradictory evidence
Alternative theories/explanations,
Triangulation considerations