Focus on Psychometrics The Multitrait-Multimethod Approach to Construct Validity

The multitrait-multimethod matrix approach as proposed by Campbell and Fiske (1959) was an important contribution to our understanding of the nature of validation procedures. There are, however, problems encountered when using the Campbell and Fiske (1 959) approach. The purpose of this article is to discuss the method and selected problems, and to propose an alternate approach to address those problems. Campbell and Fiske (1959) provided important insights into the nature of validation procedures. In particular, they proposed the multitrait-mul-timethod matrix (MTMM matrix) as a way to assess convergent and discriminant validity as well as to estimate the effect of method variance on validity assessments. However, there are problems with the traditional bivariate analysis of the MTMM matrix that may severely limit the utility of the method. The purpose of this article is to discus