ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an integrated review of most of the important concepts related to the evaluation of measurement reliability and statistics. It discusses key concepts and examines several figures and tables that provide the information needed to make a comprehensive evaluation of the research validity of an empirical quantitative study. The chapter presents an evaluation framework, which divides internal validity into two dimensions: equivalence of the groups on participant characteristics; and control of extraneous experience and environment variables. In general, well-controlled laboratory-type settings offer less contamination, and field or natural settings offer less control of extraneous variables. The chapter discusses the first two aspects of research validity, providing three rating scales and rubrics for using them to evaluate these dimensions of research validity. These first three key dimensions of research validity are: Measurement reliability and statistics; Internal validity: equivalence of the groups on participant characteristics; Internal validity: control of extraneous experience and environmental variables.
