Validity is a foundational concept in qualitative research methodology, describing the degree to which a study's findings accurately represent the real-world phenomena under investigation. Unlike quantitative validity, which often relies on statistical tests, qualitative validity is established through rigorous study design, appropriate participant selection, transparent analysis, and the credibility of the researcher's interpretations. Threats to validity include leading questions, poorly screened participants, shallow probing, and analysis that imposes assumptions rather than surfacing genuine themes. For consumer and market insights teams, validity is what separates findings stakeholders can act on from findings that simply confirm what the team already believed. Establishing validity requires both methodological discipline and honest engagement with what participants actually say.