Which term concerns whether a measurement tool actually measures the intended concept?

Which term concerns whether a measurement tool actually measures the intended concept?

• A. Validity of measures
• B. Reliability of measures
• C. Generalizability
• D. Precision

Answer: (A)

Validity is the extent to which a measurement tool measures what it is intended to measure. It asks whether the items and the overall scale truly capture the concept of interest rather than something else. For example, a questionnaire meant to assess anxiety should reflect the actual anxiety construct, not merely general mood or stress levels. There are several ways we think about validity: content validity checks that the items cover all aspects of the concept; construct validity examines whether the results align with theoretical expectations and relate to related measures in the anticipated ways; and criterion validity looks at how well the scores relate to an external standard or criterion. A tool can be reliable—producing consistent results over time or across raters—without being valid, if it’s measuring something other than the intended construct. Generalizability concerns whether findings apply beyond the specific sample, and precision concerns how exact the measurements are, but neither alone determines whether the instrument truly measures the intended concept.

Validity is the extent to which a measurement tool measures what it is intended to measure. It asks whether the items and the overall scale truly capture the concept of interest rather than something else. For example, a questionnaire meant to assess anxiety should reflect the actual anxiety construct, not merely general mood or stress levels. There are several ways we think about validity: content validity checks that the items cover all aspects of the concept; construct validity examines whether the results align with theoretical expectations and relate to related measures in the anticipated ways; and criterion validity looks at how well the scores relate to an external standard or criterion.

A tool can be reliable—producing consistent results over time or across raters—without being valid, if it’s measuring something other than the intended construct. Generalizability concerns whether findings apply beyond the specific sample, and precision concerns how exact the measurements are, but neither alone determines whether the instrument truly measures the intended concept.