Which statement best describes the relationship between reliability and validity?

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Reliability and validity measure different aspects of a measurement: reliability is about consistency across time, observers, or items, while validity is about how accurately the instrument measures what it’s supposed to measure. They are distinct concepts, yet both are essential. A tool can be highly reliable—giving the same result every time—but not valid if that result doesn’t reflect the intended construct (for example, a scale that consistently weighs the same amount but is off by a systematic bias). Conversely, a measure might capture the right construct in principle but be unreliable due to random error, making its results inconsistent and hard to trust. In practice, validity relies on some degree of reliability, but reliability alone does not guarantee validity. So, trustworthy measurement requires both reliable and valid properties.