Face Validity

What is face validity? 

Face validity is the degree to which an assessment appears to measure what it is designed to measure. It is about how ‘obvious’ or ‘self-evident’ the test’s relevance is to those using it, especially to participants or stakeholders. This type of validity is subjective and is usually assessed by expert reviewers or subject matter experts. 

While face validity does not provide a scientific measure of a test’s accuracy, it plays a crucial role in validating that test-takers or users perceive the assessment as relevant, which can increase motivation and compliance. 

Key features of face validity 

Subjective judgment: Face validity is based on initial impressions, often from people familiar with the content of the test. 

Non-technical: Unlike other types of validity, such as construct or criterion validity, face validity does not require complex statistical analysis. 

Influence on engagement: A test with high face validity is likelier to engage participants, as they feel the test aligns with what they expect to measure. 

Example of face validity 

In a mathematics test, a question asking, ‘What is 3 + 5?’ has high face validity, as it directly measures basic arithmetic skills one would expect from the test. If the test instead included questions about unrelated topics, like history or literature, its face validity would be questionable. 

Another example is a survey on employee job satisfaction. If the questions are about aspects like workload, work environment, and relationships with colleagues, the face validity of the survey would be considered high. However, if the survey asked irrelevant questions, such as personal hobbies, it would not appear to measure job satisfaction effectively, reducing its face validity.