Face validity意思

Face validity is a type of validity that refers to the extent to which a test, measure, or procedure appears to be relevant and appropriate to the concept or construct it is intended to measure. In other words, it is the intuitive or superficial plausibility of a measure, based on its content or design.

For example, a survey designed to measure job satisfaction might include questions about job security, salary, relationships with colleagues, and job duties. These items have face validity because they appear to be relevant to job satisfaction.

However, face validity is not a guarantee of a measure's actual validity. A measure can have face validity but still not accurately reflect the underlying construct. For example, a survey that asks about job satisfaction might include a question about the weather, which has face validity (because weather can affect mood) but is not actually a relevant factor in job satisfaction.

Therefore, face validity is just one aspect of validity and should be considered in conjunction with other types of validity evidence, such as construct validity, content validity, and criterion validity.