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reliability and validity

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Discuss why reliability and validity are important concepts to understand when selecting an appropriate Psychological test. Include a description of each concept in your answer.

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Justification for reliability and validity is given.

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1. Discuss why reliability and validity are important concepts to understand when selecting an appropriate Psychological test.
Include a description of each concept in your answer.

Validity

Validity is often considered the most important issue in selecting a test, but reliability is also important. According to Cook and Campbell (1979, cited in http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/tutorial/Colosi/lcolosi2.htm), validity is the "best available approximation to the truth or falsity of a given inference, proposition or conclusion."

For example, when studying the effect of strict attendance policies on class participation, lets say the researchers found that class participation did increase after the policy. Did their treatment (strict attendance policy) cause the observed outcome (increased class participation)? The degree to which the effect was due to the treatment, this speaks to the validity of the test. If it is valid, then you can draw conclusions from your results and the research can be applied. However, if the test is not valid, then any conclusions drawn from the results are not inaccurate. Thus, validity is ...

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