Definition
Construct validity is the extent to which the measurements used, often questionnaires, actually test the hypothesis or theory they are measuring. Construct validity should demonstrate that scores on a particular test do predict the theoretical trait it says it does.
There are two subsets of construct validity: convergent construct validity and discriminant construct validity. Convergent construct validity tests the relationship between the construct and a similar measure; this shows that constructs which are meant to be related are related. Discriminant construct validity tests the relationships between the construct and an unrelated measure; this shows that the constructs are not related to something unexpected. In order to have good construct validity one must have a strong relationship with convergent construct validity and no relationship for discriminant construct validity.
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References and Further Reading
Bruce, N., Pope, D., & Stanistreet, D. (2008). Quantitative methods for health research: A practical interactive guide to epidemiology and statistics. West Sussex: Wiley.
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Ginty, A.T. (2019). Construct Validity. In: Gellman, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_861-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_861-2
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