Badge System Design: what we talk about when we talk about validity

Badge System Design: what we talk about when we talk about validity

The question of validity is posed fairly commonly.* It goes something like this, “How can we ensure that the badges have a sense of validity?” or “Who will vet them?” or “How will we know that they’re worthwhile badges issued from reputable sources?”

Validity
Validity addresses the question of representational accuracy: does something perfectly represent the thing it’s allegedly designed to represent?

Credibility
Credibility inspires belief and is derived from perceptions of trustworthiness and expertise. These things can be assessed through personal means but quite often are accepted tacitly.

Reliability
Reliability might be considered the replicability quotient of an event, idea, performance, etc. Something that can be consistently measured is considered reliable.