Which statement describes external validity?

Which statement describes external validity?

• A. It refers to the generalizability of findings to other settings or populations.
• B. It refers to the real-world application of the method.
• C. It refers to the precision of measurement instruments.
• D. It refers to the relationship between DV and IV.

Answer: (A)

External validity is about whether the findings can generalize beyond the specific people, settings, and times studied. It asks if the same results would hold in different populations or in other contexts, not just in the lab where the study took place. That makes the statement about generalizability to other settings or populations the best description. The other points focus on different issues: precision of measurement tools relates to reliability and measurement accuracy, the link between the dependent and independent variables concerns internal validity and causal interpretation, and while applying the method in the real world touches on ecological validity, the standard definition of external validity is specifically generalizability across settings and groups.

External validity is about whether the findings can generalize beyond the specific people, settings, and times studied. It asks if the same results would hold in different populations or in other contexts, not just in the lab where the study took place. That makes the statement about generalizability to other settings or populations the best description. The other points focus on different issues: precision of measurement tools relates to reliability and measurement accuracy, the link between the dependent and independent variables concerns internal validity and causal interpretation, and while applying the method in the real world touches on ecological validity, the standard definition of external validity is specifically generalizability across settings and groups.