Current Concepts in Validity and Reliability for Psychometric Instruments: Theory and Application

Validity and reliability relate to the interpretation of scores from psychometric instruments (eg, symptom scales, questionnaires, education tests, and observer ratings) used in clinical practice, research, education, and administration. Emerging paradigms replace prior distinctions of face, content, and criterion validity with the unitary concept “construct validity,” the degree to which a score can be interpreted as representing the intended underlying construct. Evidence to support the validity argument is collected from 5 sources: