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Research Methods - Chapter 5

Terms in this set (21)

Concurrent Validity
- relationship between the measure and a criterion behavior at the same time
- i.e., study how people who score either high or low on the measure behave in different situations
Construct Validity
- concerns whether methods of studying variables are accurate
- question of whether measure that is employed actually measures the construct it is intended to measure
Content Validity
- based on comparing the content of the measure within the universe of content that defines the construct
Convergent Validity
- extent to which scores on the measure in question are related to scores on other measures of the same construct or similar constructs
Cronbach's Alpha
- average of all split-half reliability coefficients
Discriminant Validity
- measure is NOT related to variables with which it should be related
Face Validity
- measure appears to measure what is is supposed to measure
- involves judgment of whether content appears to be an accurate measure
- not sufficient to declare a measure valid
Internal Consistency Reliability
- assessment of reliability using responses at only one point in time
- should yield, similar or consistent results
Interrater Reliability
- extent to which raters agree in their observations
- rater's must be highly trained in order to obtain optimal performance
Interval Scale
- difference between numbers on the scale is meaningful
- zero is only an arbitrary reference point
- i.e., intelligence, aptitude test score, temperature
Item-Total Correlation
- correlation between scores on individual items with the total score on all items of a measure
Measurement Error
- Measure of reliability
- unreliable measure; does not provide an accurate indication of a variable
Nominal Scale
- no numerical or quantitative properties
- contains categories or groups differing from one another
- independent variable is often a ______ or categorial variable
- i.e., males/females, introverts/extroverts
Ordinal Scale
- rank order the levels of variables being studied
- categories can be ordered from first to last
- no particular value is attached to intervals
- i.e., 2-, 3-, 4-star restaurants
Predictive Validity
- measure is based on future behavior or outcome
- important when trying to study measures designed to improve ability to make predictions
Ratio Scale
- have a point of absolute zero indicating absence of variable being measured
- can form ratios (2x as much)
- often used in physical science - reaction time, response, duration of response
Reactivity
- awareness of being measured changes an individuals behavior
- doesn't tell how person would behave under natural circumstances
Reliability
- consistency or stability of a measure of behavior
- does not fluctuate from one reading to the next
Split-Half Reliability
- correlation of the total score on one half of the test with the total score on the other half
- created by randomly dividing the test into two equal parts
- based on only one of many possible ways of dividing the measure
Test-Retest Reliability
- reliability coefficient determined by the correlation between scores on a measure given at one time with scores on the same measure given at a later time
True Score
- measure of reliability
- real score on the variable
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