Global metascience seminar monitor

Abstract

In this talk, I introduce a concept of measurement validity with three key features that I argue can facilitate improved validation practices. First, it is restricted to the question of what a test measures. This contrasts with influential guidelines from the American Psychological Association, which state that validity should be ascribed to interpretations of test scores for different test uses. Second, it is based on a necessary and, in principle, sufficient causal condition for valid measurement; and third, it makes an explicit distinction between the validity potential of measurement procedures (e.g., tests) and the realised validity of concrete measurement outcomes (e.g., specific sets of test scores).