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Romantic Red Revisited: Red Enhances Mens Attraction to Young, but not Menopausal Women
Internal Validity
The internal validity of a study is the extent to which cause-and-effect relationships are established between variables. The study by Schwarz and Singer (2013) aimed at understanding if the red background was associated with increased sexual attractiveness of women. The study concluded that the red background is associated with an increased sexual appeal to males of all ages. However, the color of the background did not affect the sexual attractiveness of men Menopausal women. To answer the question if the result is internally valid, three questions need to be answered, including if cause preceded the effect if cause and effect vary together, and if there are any other explanations of the correlation.
The answer to the first question is yes, as the effect was observed after the background was changed. The answer to the second question is also positive, as ANOVA demonstrated a significant (P<0.001) change in the sexual attractiveness of young women after altering the background and controlling for facial expression and dress. The answer to the first question, however, is complicated, as there is no means for controlling if there were any other differences in the pictures of women with different backgrounds to avoid the third-variable problem. However, judging from the presence of dependent and control variables, there seems to be no other explanation of the correlation between the variables, as the test was specifically designed to avoid them. In summary, the research seems internally valid.
External Validity
External validity addresses the question of whether the results of the research can be generalized to the population under study and other conditions. In other words, the researchers need to understand if the sample can adequately represent the population and if the procedures of the study are close to nature. The first question is difficult to answer as the researchers do not provide enough information about the sample except for the number of participants (n=120) and their age. The sampling method, as well as other characteristics, are not included. The answer to the second question is no, as the conditions of the test are not close to reality. People are unlikely to meet women from different backgrounds in the real world. Thus, the external validity of research conducted by Schwarz and Singer (2013) is questionable.
Construct Validity
Construct validity measures if variables are operationalized properly to represent the theoretical constructs. The study by Schwarz and Singer (2013) operationalized the independent variables by directly asking about sexual attractiveness, physical attractiveness, sympathy, and intelligence. Thus, the face validity of these Likert scale questions is high; thus, the answers to these questions seem to adequately operationalize the variables. In short, the construct validity of the study is adequate.
Statistical Validity
Statistical validity answers the question of whether the sample size was enough to confirm the generalizability of the results. In other words, statistical validity describes if the effect size of the experiment was adequate. At the same time, statistical validity determines if the tests were adequate to answer the research question. The sample size was 120, which is enough to generalize results to the population. The researchers used ANOVA, which is appropriate for experimental studies.
Validity Prioritization
In summary, the study has sufficient validity to trust the results. Schwarz and Singer (2013) seem to have prioritized internal and statistical validity. External validity is was difficult to achieve, as it would be associated with increased spending. At the same time, if the researchers decided to operationalize variables with questionnaires to improve construct validity, it would make the research more complicated and time-consuming for the participants.
Organizational Justice and Job Satisfaction as Predictors of Turnover Intentions among Teachers in the Offinso South District of Ghana
Internal Validity
The study by Addai, Kyeremeh, Abdulai, and Sarfo (2018) has questionable internal validity due to the chosen method. The research is correlational, which implies that there is little opportunity to establish cause-and-effect relationships. First, the question of turnover intentions changed before or after the change in independent variables cannot be answered, as it is an experimental study. Second, there is a high probability that there are other variables that may mediate or moderate the relationships between the variables. The researchers seem to have failed to introduce control variables to control for age, cultural background, or workplace culture. The only question that can be answered positively is that there is a strong correlation between organizational justice and turnover intentions. At the same time, there are weak correlations between job satisfaction and turnover intentions and no significant correlations between gender and turnover intentions. Thus, it can be concluded that internal validity was not prioritized by the researchers as it is low.
External Validity
The study by Addai et al. (2018) has high external validity in terms of both population and the environment. First, the answer to the question of the sample adequately representing the population under stud is positive. The population of the study is high school teachers of the Offinso South District of Ghana. The questionnaires were distributed among 114 teachers in this district, which implies that the researchers selected adequate respondents to study the population. Second, the question of whether the results can be generalized to the real conditions needs to be answered. The researchers asked to fill questionnaires of working teachers, which implies that they were in a real-world situation. Thus, the external validity of the study by Addai et al. (2018) is very high.
Construct Validity
Construct validity of the research is also very high, as the researchers utilized highly reliable instruments to operationalize the variables. In particular, Job satisfaction was measured using the Teachers Satisfaction Scale (TSS), turnover intentions were measured using the Turnover Intention Scale (TIS), and organizational justice was measured using Organizational Justice Index (OJI). All these instruments were specifically developed by previous research to operationalize the variables under study. These questionnaires were tested with time, which implies that the study by Addai et al. (2018) has outstanding construct validity.
Statistical Validity
First, it is crucial to answering the question if the sample size is adequate to make generalizations about the population. The total population under analysis was 300, and the researchers used a sample of 114 participants. This implies that the researchers tested more than 35% of the population, which is sufficient to make inferences. Second, the question of the statistical tests was adequate to answer the research question that needs to be addressed. Correlational studies usually use Pearsons R and regression analysis to analyze the relationships between variables. The study by Addai et al. (2018) used these two methods in their study. Thus, it can be concluded that the research has very high statistical validity.
Validity Prioritization
The researchers seem to have prioritized all the validities except for internal. This is an adequate decision, as in correlational studies, it is difficult to judge about cause-and-effect of matters. The researchers decided not to waste resources on validity that is difficult to achieve and concentrated on achieving excellence in external, statistical, and construct validities. Thus, it can be concluded that Addai et al. (2018) were successful in achieving the optimal validity of the study, taking into consideration the research design and questions.
References
Addai, P., Kyeremeh, E., Abdulai, W., & Sarfo, J. O. (2018). Organizational justice and job satisfaction as predictors of turnover intentions among teachers in the Offinso South District of Ghana. European Journal of Contemporary Education, 7(2), 235-243. Web.
Schwarz, S., & Singer, M. (2013). Romantic red revisited: Red enhances mens attraction to young, but not menopausal women. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49(1), 161-164. Web.
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