noun · academic
generalizability
/ˌdʒenərəlaɪzəˈbɪlɪti/gen·er·a·li·ZA·bil·i·ty
the extent to which study findings apply to settings, people, or times beyond the study sample
Examples
“The small, single-centre sample raised concerns about the generalizability of the results.”
“To improve generalizability, researchers sampled participants from multiple regions.”
“High internal validity doesn't guarantee high generalizability.”
Band 8 sentence
“Although the trial showed benefit in a controlled setting, questions remain about its generalizability to routine clinical practice.”
Collocations
- concerns about generalizability
- limited generalizability
- improve generalizability
Word family
Common mistakes
The study has low applicability to other groups.→The study has low generalizability to other groups.
You can generalise the results to whole population directly.→You cannot generalize the results to the whole population directly.
Say it for a higher band
5applicability→6ability to apply→7+generalizability
Synonyms
external validity
applicability
Easily confused
external validity
“The study's external validity was questioned due to its narrow sample.”
Related words
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