Threats to Internal Validity
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What is internal validity? Why is internal validity important? What can a researcher do to establish internal validity within a research study?
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Solution Summary
The solution explains internal validity and its importance before going on to describe how a researcher can insure that they have it. 667 words with reference links included.
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Let's take a closer look. I also attached a resource on threats to internal validity, some of which this response is drawn, and referred to in the response.
RESPONSE:
1. What is internal validity?
Validity is "the best available approximation to the truth of a given proposition, inference or conclusion." In other words, "when we make some claim, does the evidence support our conclusions? "There are different types of validity, such as construct, external and internal. (http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/tutorial/Burns/int.html)
Specifically, internal validity refers to the extent to which we can accurately state that the independent variable produced the observed effect. The manipulated condition is referred to as the independent variable, and the behavioral measure is called the dependent variable. We can say that an experiment is internally valid to the extent that it shows a cause-effect relationship between the independent and dependent variables. (http://psych.athabascau.ca/html/Validity/concept.shtml)
2. Why is internal validity important?
It is important because it is the only way that we can accurately make the claim that the ...
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