Construct Validity and the Discourses of Research

Construct validity was introduced into the social science literature in 1955 with the publication of "Construct Validity in Psychological Tests" by Cronbach and Meehl. It concerns the validity with which constructs are linked to observations and measurements. Construct validity focuses attention where social theory and research converge and diverge at the juncture of words and things, concepts and objects, theory and practice. Since then the literature on construct validity has grown steadily. From the outset construct validation has been recognized as a discursive and investigative activity but most of the discussing and investigating have occurred in the context of mainstream systematic and quantitative research. Construct validity, it is argued, is prior in importance to other types of validity, such as content, internal, statistical conclusion, and external. Given that as well as its discursive character, construct validity is explored from the perspectives of phenomenology and ethnographic research, critical theory, the interpretive analytics of Foucault, and the deconstructive criticism of Derrida. Taken together, the richness and complexity of these analyses show that construct validation is a pragmatic and socially critical activity because clear-cut distinctions among social research, social theory, and social practice cannot be sustained.