Validity

A User's Guide to Case Studies: Examination and Critique of an Approach to Research

What is Validity?

Validity is a tool used to measure whether the results of the case study are true and meaningful to the study. There are four types of validity that are explained in the video below.

How does Validity Apply to a Case Study?

The trustworthiness in a case study approach, which includes both the validity and reliability dimensions, is often criticized for lacking presence. One reason for this may be that case studies are widely used for qualitative research. Qualitative research tends to lack empirical approaches and answers; it has been stated that to have validity in a study, both theoretical and empirical approaches should be used. In other words, validity in a case study lacks scientific rigour and provides little basis for generalizing results to the broader population. Despite case studies' lack of validity, they capture a range of perspectives instead of the single view of an individual you get with a survey response or interview. Ultimately gaining the opportunity for a greater understanding of the subject at hand reduces the potential for any bias by diluting the plan of a particular individual. Finally, insufficient scientific rigour's lack of empirical evidence renders case studies lacking validity.

Types of Validity Explained

Construct Validity

The degree to which inferences can legitimately be made from the operationalizations in a study to the theoretical constructs on which they are based
Did the study really measure what it claimed to measure?

Reliability

Reliability refers to how consistently a method measures something. If the same result can be consistently achieved by using the same methods under the same circumstances, the measurement is considered reliable
The measurement of how stable, dependable, trustworthy, and consistent a test is in measuring the same thing each time.

Internal Validity

Internal validity is the extent to which a study establishes a trustworthy cause-and-effect relationship between a treatment and an outcome.
Internal validity also reflects that a given study makes it possible to eliminate alternative explanations for a finding.
Internal validity depends largely on the procedures of a study and how rigorously it is performed.

External Validity

This is about the validity of applying your study conclusions outside, or external to, the setting of your study.
Asks are the findings unique to just the participants we studied or could they apply to other groups?
Refers to the extent to which the results of an experiment can be generalized across populations, time, and settings.

Ensuring Validity in a Case Study

Application of Validity

Case Study Example

Brief recap:

This case study that found key stressors correlated with the COVID-19 pandemic and their effects on the mental health of students in the University of Punjab. Their research suggests a strong incidence of tension, anxiety, and depression amongst the students. This was found to be noticeably higher in female students, and the results of specific key stressors varied amongst high school and college students. There have been several reports since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic now investigating the effects of COVID-19 on student's mental well-being. A perceived experience of intense anxiety was identified as the main threat of psychological distress.

Testing the Validity of the Case Study Performed by Ali et al. (2021):

Construct Validity

Used a single survey questionnaire to determine quantitative results while measuring qualitative feelings.
Questions were asked covering aspects of the construct of interest without evidence of manipulation.
Clearly specified research question which lead to to a definition of study aim and objectives that set out the construct and how it will be measured.

Internal Validity

This studies' environment may be considered difficult to control therefore it can be difficult to claim high internal validity. When you claim high internal validity you are saying that in your study, you can assign cause to effect unambiguously.
There are other factors that may increase anxiety and depression such as pressures of school work, therefore one cannot claim internal validity.

External Validity

These results are not generalizable to the public and may only be applicable to academic settings.
The results of this study would vary between person, place, and setting. Although when applied to differing academic settings, assumptions can be made that the results would be similar.
The results may also vary depending on the severity of COVID-19 in differing regions.

Reliability

The self-report questionnaire has high reliability therefore it is stable, dependable, and a trustworthy test that measures the concepts the study set out to measure.

"This study obtained results using the PSS-4 , which is a self-report questionnaire created by Cohen et al. to evaluate an individual's appraisal of difficult circumstances over the past one month of their lives. It has been well tested in many contexts and various languages and has high reliability and validity tests, which are a simple to use global indicator of stress. The whole instrument comprises 14 signs evaluating the experience of the respondent on a 5-point Likert scale (Ali et al., 2019, p. 909)."

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