Psychology A-Level
reliability and validity
What reliability and validity means in Psychology A-Level, as defined for OCR.
Definition of reliability and validity
Check what you remember
Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain reliability and validity in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.
Reference: OCR
Reliability is consistency, internal (split-half) and external (test-retest, inter-rater), while validity is accuracy, internal, external (population, ecological) and measurement (face, construct, concurrent, criterion).
Topics that use reliability and validity
- Data recording, analysis and presentation (OCR A-Level)
Related terms
- critical values
- ethical guidelines
- levels of measurement
- mathematical requirements
- measures of central tendency
- measures of dispersion
- participant and researcher effects
- raw data tables
Using reliability and validity in the exam
Check the command word and mark scheme for your exact question. After comparing your explanation with the reference, use the term in an answer on the linked topic. This practice does not predict an exam mark.
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