Validity
What is validity and its types in research? Why it is important?
An instrument is valid if it measures what it is intended to measure and accurately achieves the purpose for which it was designed (Patten et al., 2004; Wallen & Fraenkel, 2001). Patten et al. (2004) emphasizes that validity is a matter of degree and discussion should focus on how valid a test is, not whether it is valid or not. According to Patten (2004), no test instrument is perfectly valid. The researcher needs some kind of assurance that the instrument being used will result in accurate conclusions (Wallen & Fraenkel, 2001). Validity involves the appropriateness, meaningfulness, and usefulness of inferences made by the researcher on the basis of the Data Collection (Wallen & Fraenkel, 2001). Validity can often be thought of as judgmental.
Types of Validity
There are different types of validity exist to check the quality of data, which includes
- Content validity
- Predictive validity
- Concurrent validity
- Construct validity
- Face validity
- Internal validity
- External validity
- Statistical validity (Burns, 2000; McBurney & White, 2006)
References
Patten, C., Lexell, J. & Brown, H.E. (2004). Weakness and strength training in persons with poststroke hemiplegia: rationale, method, and efficacy. Journal of rehabilitation research and development. [Online]. 41 (3A). pp. 293–312. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15543447.
Wallen, N.E. & Fraenkel, J.R. (2001). Educational Research: A Guide to the Process. 2nd Ed. [Online]. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Available from: https://www.questia.com/library/104924686/educational-research-a-guide-to-the-process.
Burns, R. (2000). Introduction to Research Methods. In: [Online]. Sage. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224927508_Introduction_to_Research_Methods.
McBurney, D.H. & White, T.L. (2006). Research Methods. 7th Ed. [Online]. Wadsworth. Available from: https://www.amazon.com/Research-Methods-7th-Donald-McBurney/dp/0495092088.
