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External, Internal, and Construct Validity Essay

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Validity pertains to both the methods and the design of a research study and indicates “the degree with which correct inferences can be made from the results of a research study” (Indiana University Of Pennsylvania, 2010). According to Trochim and Donnelly, there are four types of validity including conclusion, internal, construct, and external (2008). In this assignment, three of these types will be discussed. Internal validity is the extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure. External validity on the other hand, is the extent to which the results of a research study can be generalized to other groups, other times, and other settings. Construct validity demonstrates an association between results and the prediction of a …show more content…

Instrumentation is concerned a lack of consistency in the measuring instrument that could account for invalid results of a research study. This threat is most likely to occur when two different forms are used for the pre and post tests or if the instrument is constructed poorly. (Creswell, 2009).
Mortality can occur if research participants drop out of the study before completion. This problem is more likely to occur if participants are volunteers or if the sample group is too small (Creswell, 2009). Statistical regression is the tendency of participants who score high on a pretest to score lower (or closer to the mean) on the posttest and consequently, participants who score low on a pretest tend to score higher on the posttest. This regression may significantly influence the distribution of scores. Finally, differential selection can occur if already formed groups are used in a study as the groups may have had existing differences from the beginning. For example, the subjects in each group may have extreme age differences or educational backgrounds. As a result, any differences found at the posttest may be due to these "differential selection" differences rather than being due to the independent variable. External validity is the degree to which the results of a research study can be generalized to and across other populations, settings, times and tasks. The threats to external validity compromise a

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