The question of external validity is always
raised when a researcher selects participants based on convenience rather
than using an unbiased selection process. Selection of research participants
is discussed in detail in Chapter 5, but for now, consider this common
situation. Most researchers are interested in a broadly defined population
such as adolescents in the United States; however, because of cost considerations,
such a researcher is likely to obtain local adolescents. Therefore, a
researcher in San Francisco, California, is likely to solicit participants from
San Francisco Bay Area high schools, whereas a researcher in Kansas City,
Missouri, is likely to solicit participants from Kansas City high schools.
The issue here is whether the results obtained with west coast adolescents
can be generalized to adolescents in the Midwest or other parts of the
country. Research results obtained with participants from one geographic
region or setting may contain selection bias and, hence, may not generalize
to people in other regions or settings (urban, suburban, rural).