Validity & Ethics in Research

VALIDITY & ETHICS IN RESEARCHFOOD FOR THOUGHT

WHAT IS VALIDITY IN RESEARCH?“Validity can be defined as the best available approximate to the truth of a given proposition, inference, or conclusion.”

Trochim, William M.K. (2006). Introduction to Validity. In The Research Methods Knowledge Base (pp. 20-30). Ohio: Cengage Learning.

CONCLUSION VALIDITY

Bautista-Castaño, Inmaculada, and Serra-Majem, Lluis (2012). Relationship between bread consumption, body weight, and abdominal fat distribution: evidence from epidemiological studies. Nutrition Reviews 70(4), 218-233.

CASE STUDY: BREAD

Is there a relationship between the cause and the effect?

INTERNAL VALIDITY

Agarwal, Sanjiv, and Rao, A. Venketeshwer (1998). Tomato Lycopene and Low Density Lipoprotein Oxidation: A Human Dietary Intervention Study. Lipids, 33(10), 981-984.

CASE STUDY: TOMATOES

Is the relationship causal?

CONSTRUCT VALIDITY

Banović, Marija, Fontes, Magda Aguiar, Barreira, Maria Madalena, Grunert, Klaus G. (2012). Impact of Product Familiarity on Beef Quality Perception. Wiley Online Library 28(2), 157-172.

CASE STUDY: BEEF

Can we generalize to the constructs?

EXTERNAL VALIDITY

CASE STUDY: CONSUMPTION

Davis, Brennan, and Carpenter, Christopher (2009 March). Proximity of Fast-Food Restaurants to Schools and Adolescent Obesity. American Journal of Public Health, 99(3), 505-510.

Can we generalize to other persons, places, or times?

VALIDITY ADDS UP

THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT

Davis, Brennan, and Carpenter, Christopher (2009 March). Proximity of Fast-Food Restaurants to Schools and Adolescent Obesity. American Journal of Public Health, 99(3), 505-510.

Each type of validity builds on the one before it.

VALIDITY ADDS UP

THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT

Davis, Brennan, and Carpenter, Christopher (2009 March). Proximity of Fast-Food Restaurants to Schools and Adolescent Obesity. American Journal of Public Health, 99(3), 505-510.

Each type of validity builds on the one before it.

WHAT ABOUT ETHICS IN RESEARCH?“Ethical norms [for conduct] serve the aims or goals of research and apply to people who conduct scientific research or other scholarly or creative activities.”

Resnik, David B. (2011 May 1). What is Ethics in Research & Why is it Important? National Institute of Environmental Health Services. Retrieved Oct 13, 2014.

THREE MORAL PRINCIPLES

Marshall, Catherine, Rossman, Gretchen B. (2011). Trustworthiness and Ethics. Designing Qualitative Research Fifth Edition. California: SAGE Publications, Inc. 39-52.

THE BELMONT REPORT (1978)

Respect for persons Benefice Justice

TRANSGRESSIONS, CHECKS & BALANCES

Marshall, Catherine, Rossman, Gretchen B. (2011). Trustworthiness and Ethics. Designing Qualitative Research Fifth Edition. California: SAGE Publications, Inc. 39-52.

TRANSGRESSIONS LED TO CHANGES

Nuremberg Trials (1945-1949)

Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1937-1972)

Thalidomide Experiments (late 1950s)

Gene Therapy Experiment (1999)