Validity
The extent to which research actually measures what it claims to measure and whether findings accurately represent social reality; a measure of truthfulness and relevance.
Real World
Official crime statistics from the Home Office record reported and detected crimes, but dark-figure research (e.g. the Crime Survey for England and Wales) consistently shows far more crime goes unreported — meaning police statistics lack validity as a measure of actual crime.
Exam Focus
Use the phrase 'does this method actually measure what it claims to measure?' to frame validity judgements — this mirrors mark-scheme language precisely.
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