Evaluate generalisability in criminological psychology by considering sample diversity, research locations, social desirability, representativeness and application to real courts.
Anika wants to carry out an investigation to see whether characteristics of the defendant would influence jury decision-making. She placed posters in her local library asking for volunteers who had previously been a member of a jury. She asked them to contact her if they were willing to take part in her investigation using a mock trial.
Explain one way Anika could improve her investigation to increase validity.
AO2 (1 mark), AO3 (1 mark)
Credit one mark for accurate identification of an improvement in terms
of validity in relation to the scenario (AO2).
Credit one mark for justification/exemplification of the improvement in
terms of validity (AO3).
For example:
- Anika should gather a wider range of jurors from different places
in addition to the library to increase the population validity (1) so
she could ensure that that her sample was more representative of
the characteristics of all jurors rather than just those at her local
library who may differ from the target population (1).
Look for other reasonable marking points.
Generic answers score 0 marks.
(2)
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