What type of validity is determined by the extent to which extraneous variables have been controlled?

Internal validity refers to the degree to which a study accurately establishes a causal relationship between variables without being influenced by extraneous variables. When conducting research, it is essential to control for outside factors that could interfere with the results. A study with high internal validity minimizes the potential for confounding variables, leading to more confident conclusions about the effects or relationships being investigated.

For example, in a controlled experiment, researchers may use random assignment, control groups, and standardized procedures to ensure that variations in the outcome are primarily due to the manipulation of the independent variable rather than other unrelated factors. This control enhances the credibility and reliability of the findings, making internal validity a critical aspect of experimental research design.

The concept of internal validity is distinct from the other types of validity mentioned. External validity deals with the generalizability of the results to other settings or populations, construct validity focuses on whether the operationalizations of variables truly represent the theoretical constructs they intend to measure, and criterion validity assesses how well one measure predicts an outcome based on another measure. Each type serves a different purpose in the framework of research validity.