Week 4 – Discussion 2

Experimental Validity

Experimental validity refers to the manner that variables influence the results of the research and the generalizability of the results to the population at large. The two types of validity that are relevant to experimental designs include internal validity and external validity.

Instructions:

Using a topic of interest to yourself, briefly describe a proposed research study you would like to conduct.

• Provide a detailed discussion regarding some of the potential threats that could occur to the internal validity of your study.
• Examine how these threats could reduce the validity of your study and possibly make the study invalid.
• What are some ways you could increase the internal validity?
• What is the importance of external validity for your study?
• Is internal validity or external validity more important for your study?
• What do you find most difficult about the idea of validity?
  • What aspects of evaluating it or integrating it into research desin are the most challenging and why?
  • What questions do you still have about experimental validity after this exercise?