Types of Validity, Reliability, and Sampling Errors

This set of flashcards encompasses key terms and concepts related to validity, reliability, sampling errors, and statistical methods important for understanding research methodology.

Construct Validity

The extent to which a test measures the theoretical construct or concept it is intended to measure.

Content Validity

The degree to which a test covers the entire range of relevant content for the construct being measured.

Concurrent Validity

The extent to which a test's results correspond to those of an established measure taken at the same time.

Predictive Validity

The extent to which test results can predict future outcomes or behaviors.

Test-Retest Reliability

The consistency of a test's results when the same individuals take the same test on two different occasions.

Alternate Forms Reliability

The consistency of results between two equivalent but different forms of the same test, given to the same group.

Split-Half Reliability

The consistency of results when a test is divided into two halves, and both halves are scored separately.

Sampling Error

An error that occurs due to using a sample instead of the whole population.

Coverage Error

Occurs when the sample is not representative of the target population.

Non-response Error

Differences between people who choose to take a survey and those who do not.

Univariate Analysis

Analysis involving a single variable, typically to summarize data.

Bivariate Analysis

Analysis exploring the relationship between two variables.

Discrete Data

Data that can take on a finite number of values.

Continuous Data

Data that can take on an infinite number of values within a given range.

Histogram

A graphical representation of the distribution of numerical data.

Correlation Coefficient (r-square)

A statistical measure that represents the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables.

Regression

A statistical process for estimating the relationships among variables.

Normal Distribution

A probability distribution that is symmetric about the mean, showing that data near the mean are more frequent in occurrence.

Parameters

Values that define a particular characteristic or feature of a statistical distribution.

T-test

A statistical test used to determine if there is a significant difference between the means of two groups.

ANOVA

Analysis of variance, a statistical method used to compare means among three or more groups.

Chi-squared Test

A statistical test used to determine if there is a significant association between categorical variables.

Response Rate

The number of survey completions divided by the number of surveys sent.

Incentives

Offers such as money or gifts used to improve survey response rates.

Feasibility

The ability to complete a research project given the study objectives, data availability, and other constraints.

Incidence Rate

The percentage of available respondents that meet screening criteria for a survey.

Confidence Interval

A range of values that is likely to contain the true parameter of interest.

Crosstab Counts

A method of displaying the frequency distribution of variables, often using percentages.

Box Plot

A standardized way of displaying the distribution of data based on a five-number summary.

Scatter Plot

A graph that displays values for typically two variables for a set of data.

Survey Completes

The number of individuals who fully complete a survey.

Mean

The average of a set of numbers, calculated by adding them all together and dividing by the count.

Standard Deviation

A measure of the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of values.

Variance

A statistical measurement that describes the spread of numbers in a dataset.