Measurement Validity

Introduction:

As you learned in Chapter 4 of your Fundamentals of Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice, an empirical measure of validity adequately reflects the meaning of the concept under consideration. When considering the issue of conceptualization, it is more difficult to demonstrate that individual measures are valid. For example, face validity offers empirical measures that may or may not jibe with common agreements and individual mental images about a particular concept. Criterion-related validity relies on comparing a measure with some external criterion. Measures can be validated by showing that it predicts scores on another measure that is generally accepted as valid. With discriminant validity, the measure of a concept is different from measures of similar but distinct concepts. Conceptual definitions offer a working definition specifically assigned to a term. This specification of conceptual definitions does two important things. It serves as a specific working definition presented so readers understand the concept and focuses observational strategy. It is operational definitions that spell out precisely how the concept will be measured; a description of the operations undertaken in measuring a concept.

Instructions: