External validity concerns generalizability across which domains?

External validity concerns generalizability across which domains?

• A. External validity concerns measurement reliability.
• B. External validity concerns generalizability across populations, settings, or times.
• C. External validity concerns predictive power of the model.
• D. External validity concerns sampling frame integrity.

Answer: (B)

External validity asks how far findings can be generalized beyond the exact conditions of the study. The domains it concerns are populations, settings, or times—can the results apply to other groups of people, in different environments, or at different points in time? This is why the option describing generalizability across populations, settings, or times is the best fit. Measurement reliability is about the consistency and precision of the measurements themselves, not about whether the results extend to other groups or contexts. Predictive power pertains to how well the model or findings forecast outcomes, which is a property of accuracy rather than generalizability across different domains. Sampling frame integrity relates to how well the sample represents the target population, which affects representativeness but is not the broad scope of generalization that external validity emphasizes.

External validity asks how far findings can be generalized beyond the exact conditions of the study. The domains it concerns are populations, settings, or times—can the results apply to other groups of people, in different environments, or at different points in time? This is why the option describing generalizability across populations, settings, or times is the best fit.

Measurement reliability is about the consistency and precision of the measurements themselves, not about whether the results extend to other groups or contexts. Predictive power pertains to how well the model or findings forecast outcomes, which is a property of accuracy rather than generalizability across different domains. Sampling frame integrity relates to how well the sample represents the target population, which affects representativeness but is not the broad scope of generalization that external validity emphasizes.