Concurrent validity is a type of evidence that can be gathered to defend the use of a test for predicting other outcomes. It is a parameter used in sociology, psychology, and other

psychometric Psychometrics is a field of study within psychology concerned with the theory and technique of measurement. Psychometrics generally covers specialized fields within psychology and education devoted to testing, measurement, assessment, and rela ...

or behavioral sciences. Concurrent validity is demonstrated when a test correlates well with a measure that has previously been validated. The two measures may be for the same construct, but more often used for different, but presumably related, constructs. The two measures in the study are taken at the same time. This is in contrast to predictive validity, where one measure occurs earlier and is meant to predict some later measure.McIntire, S.A. and Miller, L.A., Foundations of Psychological Testing,2nd Edition, Sage Publishing Co., 2005. In both cases, the (concurrent) predictive power of the test is analyzed using a simple

correlation In statistics, correlation or dependence is any statistical relationship, whether causal or not, between two random variables or bivariate data. Although in the broadest sense, "correlation" may indicate any type of association, in statistics ...

linear regression In statistics, linear regression is a statistical model, model that estimates the relationship between a Scalar (mathematics), scalar response (dependent variable) and one or more explanatory variables (regressor or independent variable). A mode ...

Alignment with classical conceptions of validity

Concurrent validity and predictive validity are two types of criterion-related validity. The difference between concurrent validity and predictive validity rests solely on the time at which the two measures are administered. Concurrent validity applies to validation studies in which the two measures are administered at approximately the same time. For example, an employment test may be administered to a group of workers and then the test scores can be correlated with the ratings of the workers' supervisors taken on the same day or in the same week. The resulting correlation would be a concurrent validity coefficient. This type of evidence might be used to support the use of the employment test for future selection of employees. Concurrent validity may be used as a practical substitute for predictive validity. In the example above, predictive validity would be the best choice for validating an employment test, because using the employment test on existing employees may not be a strong analog for using the tests for selection. Reduced

motivation Motivation is an mental state, internal state that propels individuals to engage in goal-directed behavior. It is often understood as a force that explains why people or animals initiate, continue, or terminate a certain behavior at a particul ...

and restriction of range are just two possible biasing effects for concurrent validity studies.

Contrasting similar terms

Concurrent validity differs from

convergent validity Convergent validity in the behavioral sciences refers to the degree to which two measures that theoretically should be related, are in fact related. Convergent validity, along with discriminant validity, is a subtype of construct validity. Conve ...

in that it focuses on the power of the focal test to ''predict'' outcomes on another test or some outcome variable. Convergent validity refers to the observation of strong correlations between two tests that are assumed to measure the same construct. It is the interpretation of the focal test as a ''predictor'' that differentiates this type of evidence from convergent validity, though both methods rely on simple correlations in the statistical analysis.

References

Validity (statistics) {{statistics-stub

Alignment with classical conceptions of validity

Contrasting similar terms

See also

References