data collection validity and reliability

Medical research and clinical trials are widely used examples of experimental design.Įxternal validity concerns generalizability of the research findings. High degrees of internal validity are associated with experimental design, where the effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable is studied under strictly controlled conditions. Internal validity refers to the ability of the research design to rule out alternative explanations of the results (Marczyk, DeMatteo & Festinger, 2005).

Validity is further identified as either internal or external. For example, a researcher studying hospital inpatient satisfaction might question the validity of a survey instrument whose items or questions produce scores measuring physician communication. As a measure of a research instrument or tool, validity is the degree to which it actually measures what it is supposed to measure (Wan, 2002). Validity understood within the context of judging the quality or merit of a study is often referred to as research validity (Gliner & Morgan, 2000). Doing so, especially within the context of marketing or social science research, begins with an understanding of the concepts of validity and reliability.

focusing on underlying organizational issues that influence how care is delivered, by clinicians, administrators, payers and regulators demands that healthcare marketers be knowledgeable in assessing and applying credible and applicable evidence (Shortell, Rundall & Hsu, 2007). The adoption of evidence-based medicine and evidence-based management, i.e. Unfortunately, research standards often are overlooked or minimized due to time and financial constraints. Healthcare marketers must take up and use evidence from well-credited research whenever possible to gain recognition and acceptance of their work by healthcare executives and physicians (Swann et al., 2012).

Data collection validity and reliability