Validity refers to how well a measurement tool actually measures what it is supposed to (Utesch, 2019). It’s important for research to be valid, meaning that it can be justified based on logical reasons rather than on assumptions (Borsboom et al., 2004). There are various different types of validity, but the main idea is to make sure that what we’re measuring is actually what we intend to measure. For example, if we’re measuring how well someone can read, we want to make sure our test is really testing their reading ability and not something else. This is called “construct validity” (Cronbach & Meehl, 1955; Borsboom et al., 2009). Within research, researches utilize evidence and theories to judge the validity of the instruments that they use (Borsboom et al., 2009). The goal is to minimize the amount of guessing or assumptions that researchers have to make (Borsboom et al., 2009; Borsboom et al., 2004).
References
Borsboom, D., Cramer, A. O. J., Kievit, R. A., Scholten, A. Z., & Franic ́, S. (2009). The end of construct validity. In R. W. Lissitz (Ed.), The concept of validity: Revisions, new directions, and applications (pp. 135 170). Charlotte, NC: IAPInformation Age Publishing.
Borsboom, D., Mellenbergh, G. J., & van Heerden, J. (2004). The concept of validity. Psychological Review, 111(4), 1061 1071.
Cronbach, L. J., & Meehl, P. E. (1955). Construct validity in psychological tests. Psychological Bulletin, 52(4), 281.
Messick, S. (1989). Validity. In R. L. Linn (Ed.), Educational measurement (pp. 13 103). Washington, DC: American Council on Education and National Council on Measurement in Education.
Utesch, T. (2019). In D. Hackfort, R. J. Schinke, & B. Strauss (Eds.), Dictionary of sport psychology: Sport, exercise, and performing arts (p. 310-311). Academic Press.
