Robeck Example For Midt On Threats To Validity

1.

According to Dr. Robeck, the most important reason for being honest and open about possible threats to validity in research is?

A.

To make sure that the data collected are sound.
B.

To ensure that conclusions that might be written from the research are reasonable.
C.

Because the research might be used to inform professional practice, so people can be harmed by invalid information.
D.

Because it is embarrassing to the researcher to find out that some study they did is actually not valid for some silly reason.

Correct Answer
C. Because the research might be used to inform professional practice, so people can be harmed by invalid information.

Explanation
Remember, when we are talking about ethics, the type of ethical judgment we agreed was most significant was the "consequentialist" form of judgment. Which of these focuses on the most important consequences of invalid research?

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2.

If a researcher is trying to determine whether the results of a study published in a professional journal apply in her specific situation, what form of validity would she be said to be considering?

A.

Internal validity.
B.

External validity.
C.

Hawthorne effect.
D.

Main stream validity.

Correct Answer
B. External validity.

Explanation
"Main stream" validity is a concept that relates to the idea that when an idea shows up in "main stream", it is taken by many people to be valid. Professional journals are not considered popular media. Outside of that, the other options can be eliminated if you understand what each means.

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3.

Suppose a research realizes that several respondents have had difficulty with a survey. Looking at the completed surveys, he realizes that two of the six items are worded in a way that is confusing. One of them seems easy to fix, which he does. The other did not provide good results at all, so he deletes that item. At the end of a treatment scheme, the researcher re-administers the survey so he can do a pre-test/post-test comparison. Which of the following is most likely to threaten validity.

A.

History
B.

Instrumentation
C.

Statistical regression
D.

Testing

Correct Answer
B. Instrumentation

Explanation
The change in the instrument, depending on the nature of the changes and the item that was deleted, is a clear threat to validity. However, although not the best answer, each of the other choices can be defended reasonably. If you had a good rationale for choosing another item, you can write up an explanation of why that choice makes sense and submit it for half credit.

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4.

Validity takes different forms in different types of research. Broadly speaking, quantitative research focuses on "generalizability", while qualitative research focuses on "transferability". Explain how "generalizability" and "transferability" are alike and how they are different in terms of their application to questions of research validity.

5.

One of the non-consequentialist approaches to ethics that we discussed is "libertarianism", or the belief that people should be free to do as they please, as long as they respect the right of others to also do as they please. Such a view creates several issues in research. Describe how a libertarian viewpoint could create at least two threats to validity in research.