Internal validity and external validity
A) work hand in hand with one another.
B) are always working against one another.
C) are essentially the same thing.
D) often work against one another.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Internal validity refers to how well an experiment is done, especially whether it avoids confounding (i.e., ensures that the change in the dependent variable is due to the independent variable). External validity refers to the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and to other people. While both are important for research, focusing on one can sometimes compromise the other. For example, increasing internal validity by tightly controlling experimental conditions may limit the generalizability of the findings, thus reducing external validity.

Internal Validity and External Validity