Validity and Reliability
According to Keyton (2011), “Researchers rely on construct validity to assure themselves
that they are measuring the core concept that was intended to be measured. Construct validity
rests on the arguments and supporting evidence, provided they are consistent with theoretical
expectations” (p. 109). To obtain validity for the research study, the survey questions were
crafted to gauge the respondents on the exact constructs the researchers were interested in. The
majority of the questions focused on Facebook privacy policies and respondents’ opinions and
perceptions of these policies. The researchers found the survey method to be the most reliable
way of obtaining data for this specific topic.
Keyton (2011) also noted that reliability is the degree of stability, trustworthiness, and dependability that is present in a measurement. At the beginning of the survey, participants were asked not to access their Facebook profiles while responding to the questions. If they followed these instructions, the degree of trustworthiness and dependability in the study is greatly strengthened. Internal reliability, Keyton (2011) added, is “the degree to which the items invoke the same response from the person responding to the questionnaire” (p. 110). The researchers tested the internal reliability of the study by utilizing the content analysis, as each response was analyzed to determine the level of consistency in participants’ survey answers.