AJAG Article

Validity in social research means the extent to which the data is plausible, credible and trustworthy; and
thus can be defended when challenged. Reliability and validity remain appropriate concepts for attaining
rigor in both qualitative and quantitative research. Few or not many researchers in public administration
always salvage responsibility for reliability and validity by implementing verification strategies integral
and self-correcting during the conduct of inquiry which promote the attainment of rigor using strategies
inherent within each quantitative and qualitative design, and moves the responsibility for incorporating and
maintaining reliability and validity from external reviewers‘ judgments to the investigators themselves.
This paper clarifies the meaning and use of reliability and validity in both quantitative and qualitative
research paradigm in public administration. The paper also contributes to knowledge creation on how
meeting validity and reliability demand of research affects its outcome and acceptability. In pursuit of this
aim the paper relied on qualitative technique as its methodology. Threatening or risk factors that may affect
validity and reliability of research outcomes were appraised. However, the research paper revealed that the
trustworthiness, universality, acceptability of any research findings in public administration lies in the
researcher‘s capacity to meet the validity and reliability need of the research exercise as any data collected
with invalid or unreliable instrument eventually renders the research outcome unacceptable. The paper
concludes by recommending some possible strategies to enhance validity and reliability in public
administration (social research).

Validity and Reliability of Research Instruments in Public Administration, 2023, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 1-14. PDF