Lecture notes
Research methods in psychology
- Institution
- Coventry University (West Midlands) (CU)
Lecture notes on research methods in psychology for first years students.
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
Content preview
Two key terms in research methods are reliability and validity because they have an impacton the veracity of research findings. When planning and carrying out research, psychologists
must take these factors into account. They are also used to judge how well a piece of
research is done.
Validity:
The results' accuracy and representativeness are measured by their validity. Validity comes
in two flavours: internal and external.
Internal: Questions about whether the IV was manipulated to produce the desired results
and whether confounding variables were also present.
External: Discusses how well the findings can be applied to different contexts.
Temporal validity: This refers to how well the findings can be applied to various time
periods.
Whether or not the experimental findings can be extrapolated to other contexts,
particularly from artificial or controlled settings to real-world environments, is referred to as
ecological validity.
Reliability
Temporal relevance
It speaks to our capacity for generalising the findings across various time periods.
Ecological Validity is the degree to which the findings of an experiment can be extrapolated
to other contexts, particularly from artificial or controlled settings to natural environments.
How consistently the results occur is referred to as reliability. Will the same or very similar
outcomes be obtained if the experiment is repeated, in other words? If the response is
affirmative, the study can be described as having high reliability.
It is possible to increase reliability by creating uniform measurement methods. Internal
reliability and external reliability are the two types.
Internal reliability refers to how consistent a test is within itself. For instance, for a
questionnaire measuring high levels of obedience, the respondent must receive the same
score on each question for the questionnaire to be deemed internally reliable.
External reliability is a term used to describe how consistently a test performs over time. For
instance, if someone scored 120 on the IQ test (test of intelligence), we would anticipate
that person to score the same if they were tested again in, say, 8 months. This would
demonstrate the test's reliability from the outside.
The degree to which two or more observers agree on the behaviours they observe is
referred to as inter-observer reliability. By comparing the two (or more) sets of observations
to see if they positively correlate, we can assess the inter-rater reliability. If their correlation
is +0.8 or higher, we can infer that they have consistently observed the same behaviours
and that inter-observer reliability is high.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller lisaantony. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £4.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
67866 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now