As your book discusses, as social scientists, we need to be concerned with three aspects of validity. List and define each of these. Then provide two reasons why establishing validity is important.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The three different types of measurement validity, generalizability, and causal validity. Measurement validity refers to the type of validity that is achieved when a measure measures what it is presumed to measure. Generalizability refers to the type of validity that is achieved when a conclusion holds true for the population, group, or groups that we say it does, given the conditions that we specify. Causal/internal validity: The type of validity that is achieved when a conclusion that one phenomenon leads to or results in another phenomenon-or doesn't lead to or result in another-is correct. One reason they are important is because, as social scientists, we want to make sure that we are making claims that are as true as we possibly can and validity plays a huge role in this. Another reason it is important is because we need to make sure that we are not making mistakes such as assuming something from one sample is true of all types of people, contexts, or cultures. Generalizability plays a role here.