This expert panel approach has been used in health services research but it has been criticized for comparing data from different sources and on the basis of potential loss of objectivity, although it may have added an element of external validity to the clinical trial data in the cost-effectiveness analysis.
Although both survey methods have disadvantages, our similar results, using the two different methods, provides an element of triangulation which strengthens the validity of the results.
The main limitation with this methodology was highlighted by the developing authors of the score, who acknowledged that this element of validity should be interpreted with caution as there was no existing gold-standard PROM with which to compare.
Sample size is an element of research design that significantly affects the validity and clinical relevance of the findings identified in research studies.
This information is critical to fully comprehend the content of the PA program in the LIFE Study, an important element of external validity.
A case study report was circulated and commented upon by provincial stakeholders and project partners, a key element of ensuring validity through member checking [ 21].
With the exception of one item, all asked whether a specific element of external validity was reported, with response choices yes, no, or not applicable.
These additional elements of validity are to be compared with the results on the original IOCv2 validation study [ 13] where the correlation coefficients of the IOCv2 scores with age were weakly negative.
The elements of validity showed that the factorial structure was satisfactory, the internal consistence of each dimension was good and the test-retest fidelity was quite high.
There are elements of validity in both arguments, but they are incomplete; they cannot by themselves provide the full picture.
