Validity
The degree to which a study or instrument measures what it claims to measure and supports the conclusions drawn from it.
Validity is the extent to which a study measures what it intends to measure and supports its conclusions. Researchers distinguish several types: internal validity (whether the design supports causal claims), external validity (whether findings generalize), construct validity (whether an instrument captures the intended concept), and content validity (whether it covers the concept fully). Qualitative traditions often use parallel terms such as credibility and trustworthiness.
Common threats to validity include confounding variables, poor operationalization, biased sampling, and instruments that drift from the construct they claim to represent.
In a thesis, validity is defended, not just mentioned. The methodology chapter should name the relevant validity types, identify the specific threats to this study, and explain the design features that address them, such as randomization, piloting, or triangulation. Examiners routinely test whether conclusions outrun what the design can support.
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