Making Your Instruments Work for You.
Objective measures are alluring owing to the apparent robustness of data generated. However, there are numerous validity, reliability, cost, and logistics issues that can affect a study involving objective instruments. Using an ongoing study on patient chair design, this article highlights some of the important issues that an investigator must address, including repeatability, sensitivity and specificity, generalizability, integration, installation, budget, outcome, and time.
Department of Design, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA shabboo.valipoor@ttu.edu.
Shabboo
S
Valipoor
Department of Design, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA.
Debajyoti
D
Pati
D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014910:Wheelchairs / Q000592:standards*
objective measures; patient chair; patient fall; research method