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Internal Validity: © 2012 The Mcgraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Internal Validity: © 2012 The Mcgraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved

rmthed

Uploaded by

hemma89
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1

Internal Validity
Chapter 9

2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies,


Inc.
All rights reserved.

What is Internal Validity?


A study has internal validity when observed differences
in the dependent variable are directly related to the
independent variable and not to some other, unintended
variable.
In other words, any relationship observed between two
or more variables should be unambiguous as to what it
means rather than being due to something else.
The something else could be:
Age
Ability
Types of materials used

Threats to Internal Validity

Subject characteristics
Mortality
Location
Instrumentation
Testing

History
Maturation
Attitude of subjects
Regression
Implementation

2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies,


Inc.
All rights reserved.

Subject Characteristics
The selection of people may result in differences,
either between individuals or groups, that are
related to the variables being studied.
This refers to a selection bias or subject
characteristics threat.
If not controlled, these variables may explain away
whatever differences are found in the study.
There are techniques used to either equalize the
differences or control these variables.
2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies,
Inc.
All rights reserved.

Mortality
It is common to lose subjects as a study
progresses
This is known as mortality threat.
Loss of subjects limits generalizability and can
introduce bias.
Mortality is the most difficult threat to control
for internal validity.
An attempt to eliminate the problem would be
to provide evidence that the subjects lost were
similar to those who remained in the study.
2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies,
Inc.
All rights reserved.

Location
The particular locations where data are collected may
create different results or explanations known as
location threat.
The best way to control for this is to keep the location
consistent for all subjects.
If this is not possible, the researcher should ensure
that different locations do not favor or jeopardize the
hypothesis.

2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies,


Inc.
All rights reserved.

Instrumentation
The way instruments are used may constitute
a threat to the internal validity of a study.
Some examples are as follows:
Instrument decay
Data collector characteristics
Data collector bias

2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies,


Inc.
All rights reserved.

Testing
A testing threat is when efforts are achieved by the
subjects due to practice (i.e., pretest, post-test
designed study)
An interaction also could cause this by taking the test
and being more aware of a possible interaction,
allowing the subjects to be more responsive towards
the treatment.

2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies,


Inc.
All rights reserved.

A Testing Threat to Internal Validity

2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies,


Inc.
All rights reserved.

10

History
A history threat is when an unforeseen event occurs
during the course of the study.
Researchers need to be alert to any possibilities of
influences that may occur during the course of the
study.

2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies,


Inc.
All rights reserved.

11

A History Threat to Internal Validity

2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies,


Inc.
All rights reserved.

12

Maturation
Change during an intervention may be due to
factors associated with the passing of time rather
than the intervention.
Students could change over the course of a study.
This is known as a Maturation Threat.
Maturation is only a threat in studies using
pre/post data for the intervention group or in
studies that span a number of years.
The best way to control for this is to include a
well-selected comparison group in the study.
2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies,
Inc.
All rights reserved.

13

Attitude of Subjects
The way subjects view a study and their
participation can be considered a threat to internal
validity, a.k.a. the Hawthorne effect.
Subjects may perform better based upon a feeling
of receiving special attention.
The opposite may occur, with subjects receiving no
treatment at all, resulting in poor performances.
A remedy to this would be to provide both groups
with comparable treatments or to make the
treatment a regular part of the study.

2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies,


Inc.
All rights reserved.

14

Regression
A regression threat is possible when change is
studied in a group that has extreme low or high
performance in the pre-intervention stage.
As with the maturation threat, this can be
controlled by the use of an equivalent control or
comparison group.

2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies,


Inc.
All rights reserved.

15

Implementation
The experimental group may be treated in ways
that are unintended, giving them an advantage.
This is known as an implementation threat.
This can occur in two ways:
1) When different individuals are assigned to
implement different methods, and these
individuals differ in ways related to the outcome
2) When some individuals have a personal bias in
favor of one method over the other

2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies,


Inc.
All rights reserved.

16

How to Minimize Threats to


Internal Validity
There are four strategies a researcher can
use to reduce threats to internal validity:
1)
2)
3)
4)

Standardize the conditions under which the


study occurs
Obtain more information on the subjects of the
study
Obtain more information on the details of the
study
Choose an appropriate design
2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies,
Inc.
All rights reserved.

17

Internal Validity
Chapter 9

2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies,


Inc.
All rights reserved.

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