One of the factors that threaten the internal validity of a quantitative research is attrition. This refers to participants in a research study dropping out of a study. The participants may fail to complete the study activities for varied reasons. When some participants leave a study, the study findings are likely to be biased (Shadish, Cook, & Campbell, 2002). The biasness is expected to arise because the participants who chose to remain in the study may have shared attributes. These attributes may influence their responses during the study. The results may, therefore, be based on biased opinions that are influenced by common underlying factors. This threat can be mitigated through the use of a tracking system that has detailed contact information of the participants. This would allow the researchers to keep in touch with all participants and reduce attrition. Also, incentives such as paid surveys would curb attrition. The incentives would encourage participants to complete the study
Similarly, factors such as reactive or interaction effect of testing may threaten the external validity of a quantitative research. For instance, a pretest has been found to either increase or decrease a participant’s responsiveness to the experimental variable being tested. Several studies have supported this claim that pretest in quantitative research is likely to influence the outcome in subsequent tests (Willson & Putnam, 1982). This threat to external validity may render research findings invalid. To mitigate this threat, researchers can incorporate the tests as variants in a regular testing without informing the participants that they are taking part in a study. For instance, in a school set-up, the tests can be integrated into routine tests.
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A possible ethical issue in qualitative research is the selection bias of the participants. Equitable selection of the participants is essential to ensure the validity of the study (Babbie, 2017). The selection criteria should ensure that all individuals have an equal opportunity to participate in the research. The researchers should not be biased in the selection of the participants. Also, data privacy and ensuring the consent of the participants are potential ethical issues that researchers may face in the course of their study.
A research topic is said to be amenable to scientific study if it aligns with the research approach used by the researchers. In the context of a quantitative research approach, an amenable research topic means that factors that influence the results of a scientific research are measurable using statistical data.
References
Babbie, E. (2017) Basics of social research (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference.
Willson, V. L., & Putnam, R. R. (1982). A meta-analysis of pretest sensitization effects in experimental design. American Educational Research Journal, 19(2), 249-258.
