Table of Contents
Definition of Generalizability
(noun) The extent to which findings from a study can be applied to a larger population or different circumstance.
Generalizability Pronunciation
Syllabification: gen·er·al·iz·a·bil·i·ty
Audio Pronunciation
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈˌdʒɛn(ə)rəˌlaɪzəˈbɪlᵻdi/
- British English – /ˌdʒɛn(ə)rəlʌɪzəˈbɪlᵻti/
Usage Notes
- Plural: generalizabilities
- Variant spelling: generalisability
- Also called:
- applicability
- external validity
Additional Information
- Qualitative Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Quantitative Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Brym, Robert J., and John Lie. 2007. Sociology: Your Compass for a New World. 3rd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Ferrante, Joan. 2011a. Seeing Sociology: An Introduction. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Ferrante, Joan. 2011b. Sociology: A Global Perspective. 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Henslin, James M. 2012. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. 10th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Kimmel, Michael S., and Amy Aronson. 2012. Sociology Now. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
O’Leary, Zina. 2007. The Social Science Jargon Buster: The Key Terms You Need to Know. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Cite the Definition of Generalizability
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “generalizability.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved September 17, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/generalizability/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
generalizability. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/generalizability/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “generalizability.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed September 17, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/generalizability/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“generalizability.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 17 Sep. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/generalizability/>.