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(Don’t) be afraid of the conceptual validity

(Don’t) be afraid of the conceptual validity. Introduction. ESCOP stresses the importance of providing proof of quality But what is quality ? Quality statistics provides evidence for something that is correct and true This is philosophy !. Typology of validity & ESCOP.

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(Don’t) be afraid of the conceptual validity

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  1. (Don’t) be afraid of the conceptual validity Gró Einarsdóttir, Ph.D. Statistics Iceland Gro.Einarsdottir@hagstofa.is

  2. Introduction • ESCOP stresses theimportance of providingproof of quality • Butwhatis quality? • Qualitystatisticsprovidesevidence for somethingthat is correct and true • This is philosophy!

  3. Typology of validity & ESCOP • Statistical conclusion validity • Internal validity • External validity • Construct validity construct measure Source: Cook et al. (2002)

  4. Typology of validity & ESCOP • Statistical conclusion validity • Internal validity • External validity • Construct validity Is the measured relationship a true relationship? construct measure Source: Cook et al. (2002)

  5. Typology of validity & ESCOP • Statistical conclusion validity • Internal validity • External validity • Construct validity Is the measured relationship a true relationship? construct measure Source: Cook et al. (2002)

  6. Typology of validity & ESCOP • Statistical conclusion validity • Internal validity • External validity • Construct validity Is the measured relationship a true relationship? Does A cause B? construct measure Source: Cook et al. (2002)

  7. Typology of validity & ESCOP • Statistical conclusion validity • Internal validity • External validity • Construct validity Is the measured relationship a true relationship? Does A cause B? construct measure Source: Cook et al. (2002)

  8. Typology of validity & ESCOP • Statistical conclusion validity • Internal validity • External validity • Construct validity Do theresults generalize? Is the measured relationship a true relationship? Does A cause B? construct measure Source: Cook et al. (2002)

  9. Typology of validity & ESCOP • Statistical conclusion validity • Internal validity • External validity • Construct validity Do theresults generalize? Is the measured relationship a true relationship? Does A cause B? construct measure Source: Cook et al. (2002)

  10. Constructvalidity • ESCOP • Many ESCOP principlesseemtoaddressconstructvalidity • Closerlookshowsthatremediesarereformulations of reliabilitymeasures • Exclusivefocusonreliabilitycanleadustomeasurethewrongthingwithgreatconsistency and precision • Do wemeasurewhatweclaim to be measuring? construct measure Source: Cook et al. (2002), ESCOP (2017)

  11. Constructvaliditycasestudy • The Icelandic social indicators systemhasbeenpublishedsince 2012 • Between45-67 indicators for differentyears • Differentdimensions for differentyears • demography, equality, sustainability, health, social cohesion, living standards and welfare, education, employment, children • The same indicators have been categorised into different dimensions • These changes in dimensions and indicators have not been well documented, justified, or explained through the years. Statistics Iceland. 2019 a. Revision of Social Indicators. Statistical Series – Working Papers, 104 (1), p. 1- 14. ISSN 1670-4770

  12. Conceptual diagram Statistics Iceland. 2019 a. Revision of Social Indicators. Statistical Series – Working Papers, 104 (1), p. 1- 14. ISSN 1670-4770

  13. The dimensions of social well-being Statistics Iceland. 2019 a. Revision of Social Indicators. Statistical Series – Working Papers, 104 (1), p. 1- 14. ISSN 1670-4770

  14. Quality criteria for indicators • The unit of measurement is people • The indicator measures well-being outcomes that are directly important for people, and not the cause or consequences of these outcomes • Has the potential to change and be influenced by policy • Generally accepted measurement that is widely used • Repeated measurement with a timeline • A timely measurement • Provides the possibility to look at subgroups and distributions • A precise measurement • A conceptually valid measure of the dimensions. Indicators should be chosen to adequately cover the dimension with as few measurements as possible. Ideally, 3-5 indicators should measure each dimension. • That Statistics Iceland can guarantee the quality of the measurement and that it can be enriched with registry and population data • The social indicators meet the needs of the users Statistics Iceland. 2019 a. Revision of Social Indicators. Statistical Series – Working Papers, 104 (1), p. 1- 14. ISSN 1670-4770

  15. Lessons • Thecasestudydescribesa method for improvingfacevalidity of an indicatorsystem • Facevalidity is supportedbyemergingconsensusamongstatisticsoffices and followingexplicitqualitycriteria • Therearehoweverothermethodsthatcanbeusede.g. • Cronbach alpha, Omega or greatest lower bound (GLB) • Exploratoryfactor analysis (EFA) • Confirmatoryfactor analysis (CFA)

  16. Pitfalls • Addressing one type of validity often introduces trade-offs with other types of validity • Construct confounding: Measurement of an entity typically consists of multiple constructs and we may fail to describe the entire construct

  17. Take home message • Theinterest is often not in thestatistic, but in theconstructthat it represents • Statisticsofficesneedtobeaware of this and explicitlyevaluatetheconstructvalidity of statisticaloutput and aimtoimprove it

  18. Thankyou! Gro.Einarsdottir@hagstofa.is

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