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Internal and External Validity

Internal validity refers to the level of causality achieved in research and the ability to establish that a cause-effect relationship exists. Common threats include attrition, confounding, diffusion, and experimenter bias. Methods to improve internal validity include blinding and experimental manipulation. External validity concerns the generalizability of results to other populations, settings, times. Common threats are pre-post test effects and selection bias. Replications in different contexts can improve external validity. Both types of validity are important for assessing causality and generalizing research findings.

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205 views11 pages

Internal and External Validity

Internal validity refers to the level of causality achieved in research and the ability to establish that a cause-effect relationship exists. Common threats include attrition, confounding, diffusion, and experimenter bias. Methods to improve internal validity include blinding and experimental manipulation. External validity concerns the generalizability of results to other populations, settings, times. Common threats are pre-post test effects and selection bias. Replications in different contexts can improve external validity. Both types of validity are important for assessing causality and generalizing research findings.

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sumrashahmeer
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INTERNAL AND

EXTERNAL
VALIDITY
Subtitle
Introduction to Internal Validity

 Internal validity refers to the level of causality that is achieved through the research.
The relationship denotes a cause-and effect relationship
 Confounding impacts the internal validity in unnatural manner and lower the levels
of confounding, higher will the internal validity of the study
 Internal validity can also be referred to as the tool for establishing the trust
worthiness of the research answers being provided by the researcher for the
research questions.
 If internal validity is compromised, it can occasionally be improved, for example, by
a modified plan of analysis. However, biases can be often fatal as, for example, if
double-blind ratings were not obtained in an RCT.
Common Threats to Internal Validity

 Attrition: Attrition refers to the dropping out of the participants from the experiment
or quitting the experiment
 Confounding: Confounding refers to the situation where the impact on dependent
variable seems to be because of some variables that are outside variables.
 Diffusion: This refers to a situation where the interaction between two groups lead to
the impact being transferred to the other group.
 Experimenter bias: An experimenter behaving in a different way with different groups
in a study, which can impact the results (and is eliminated through blinding)
Examples of Threat to Internal Validity

 Attrition: During an experimental study, patients decide to leave because they do


not want to remain the part of the study anymore thereby skewing the data towards
the people who actually want to remain the part of the study.
 Confounding: A regression analysis showing a result but the results are insignificant
yet the phenomenon is quite real such as (maximum deaths occur in old age).
 Diffusion: A focused group discussion where the groups majorly agree with the
opinion of the community leader thus making it difficult for the researcher to
understand the key factors of impact.
 Experimenter bias: Pre-conceived notion that people in a specific country behave in
a particular manner therefore making the researcher think that the data is to be
understood in the same way.
Methods to Mitigate the Internal Validation Threats

 Blinding: this refers to the situation in which any or both participants and the
researcher are unable to identify and understand the intervention.
 Experimental manipulation: Manipulating an independent variable in a study (for
instance, giving smokers a cessation program) instead of just observing an
association without conducting any intervention (examining the relationship between
exercise and smoking behavior)
Introduction to External Validity

 External validity refers to the overall generalizability of the research outside a


specific setting.
 Following are two types of external validities.
 Population validity
 ecological validity

 Transferability refers to the situation where the researcher can transfer the result to
the settings with similar characteristics.
 External validity answers the following questions
 Do the findings apply to similar people, settings, situations, and time periods?
Two common threats to external validity.

 Pre- and post-test effects: When the pre- or post-test is in some way related to the
effect seen in the study, such that the cause-and-effect relationship disappears
without these added tests
 Selection bias: Also considered a threat to internal validity, selection bias describes
differences between groups in a study that may relate to the independent variable
Examples of Threats to Internal Validity

 Pre- and post-test effects: A manager evaluates his employees based on a pre and
post test effect training. He selects a sample group and then gives them a particular
training in demand forecast management. The manager then evaluates the scores
post the training and compares them with the results before the trainings. The same
can be understood as pre and post test effects.
 Selection bias: A selection of all employees in a particular area however this does
not count the self employed people with in the specific area.
Methods to Mitigate the External Validation Threats

 Replications: Replications are used to eradicate external validity threats by


increasing the overall generalizability to other settings. This can also increase
populations and conditions. Field experiments counter testing and situation effects
by using natural contexts
Conclusion

 Internal and External Validity play an important role in assessing the causality of
variables and how much can the study be generalized
 There always exists a tradeoff between internal and external validity
 Both internal validity and external validity are not "either/or" concepts
 These are very much necessary to enhance the overall adaptability of the research
Reference

 Pahus L, Burgel PR, Roche N, Paillasseur JL, Chanez P. Randomized controlled trials
of pharmacological treatments to prevent COPD exacerbations: applicability to real-
life patients. BMC Pulm Med. 2019;19(1):127. doi:10.1186/s12890-019-0882-y

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