Briefly describe the need to validate the result of any research study?
Is it important for a study to have high internal validity?
Think in relation to a college professor, John, who claims he is a superior teacher because his Introduction to Psychology class performed better than the class taught by another teacher Drew, did on their final exam.
What if Drew’s students had to take the exam during a time when construction was going on outside the window? What if there is suspicion of cheating on the part of a number of John’s students? Use the concepts of internal validity and discuss the problems with John’s claim.
Consider the same concept for external validity. What conditions must be met in the college to be able to have high external validity? What are the advantages of conducting experiments in a laboratory (boxlike environment)?