External Validity

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Validity is the method and design used to conduct a research study and is important because it is the evaluation and presentation of information within a study as the truth (Cozby, 2014). In other words, validity is the pertinence of the tools, processes used and the resulting data (Leung, 2015) used in a research study. There are four types of validity in research, 1) conclusion, 2) internal, 3) external and 4) construct, however, this discussion is limited to internal, external and construct validity.
Internal validity is the establishment of a cause and effect relationship with variables in the research study and there being no other variables that might impact the cause and effect outcome. External is the application of research results …show more content…

Internal validity is the design, construct validity is the measure, and external validity is the expanded sample application of the study research (Trochim, Donnelly & Arora, 2016).
Internal Validity
Internal validity research is conducted in a controlled or laboratory setting where the researcher will regulate variables to create cause and effect relationships between variables, thus limiting the external influences the resulting relationship. The researcher utilizes two variables to conduct the experiment and measure results of the research, called the independent and dependent variables. The first is the independent variable or cause, which is changed by the researcher and

the second is the dependent variable or effect, which is the response to the first variable. A researcher will go through iterations of changing the independent variable to assess any changes to the results with the purpose of drawing a conclusion about cause and effect on the …show more content…

The first and most obvious is the thought process placed in building the testing structure of the research being conducted. This includes the translation of participant’s behaviors or beliefs into numerical values which are meaningful to the researcher. If the structure is not accurate enough, it may result in validation of a theory that is incorrect and opposite the results of other research studies.
External Validity Quite the opposite of internal validity specificity, external validity is more generalized in its study results because it is expected to replicate across a larger population. External validity uses real world conditions, which are less controlled, to allow the researcher's results to take form. The researcher, like internal validity, utilizes changing the independent variable to observe the cause and effect results. The results or conclusions derived from the study can be applied to the larger population (Cozby,

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