In most methodology textbooks, it is argued that both content and criterion-related validity are very limited, if not impossible validation strategies for the social sciences. Construct validity, based on the ideas of Cronbach and Meehl, is proposed as an acceptable alternative. The first part of this article elaborates on the relation between causal models as a means of validation (the nomological network) and social theory. The second part of the article evaluates different aspects of the nomological network. In the third part, triangulation, as a way of validating survey-empirical research, is discussed. We argue towards the conclusion that construct validity remains limited as well. We contend that, to a large extent, the superiority of construct validity over other kinds of validation is overestimated. Validity. Construct Validity. Survey Methodology. Measurement Theory.
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