What does causal validity assess in research?

Causal validity is focused on determining whether a research study accurately establishes a cause-and-effect relationship between variables. When researchers assess causal validity, they are primarily concerned with ensuring that any observed effect is genuinely due to the manipulation of the independent variable and not influenced by other factors. This involves evaluating the internal validity of the study, which examines how well the design isolates the causal impact, and it checks for potential confounding variables that could skew results.

In contrast, the other options refer to different aspects of research validity. Sample selection reliability concerns how consistently a sample can represent a population, qualitative analysis depth addresses the thoroughness of interpreting qualitative data, and measurement tools validity looks into how well a tool assesses what it is supposed to measure. Each of these elements is important in research, but they do not directly relate to assessing the accuracy of causal conclusions, which is the core concern of causal validity.