Construct Validity

Chapter 8 focuses on threats to construct validity arising from the left-hand side time series and the right-hand side intervention model. Construct validity is limited to questions of whether an observed effect can be generalized to alternative cause and effect measures. The “talking out” self-injurious behavior time series, shown in Chapter 5, are examples of primary data. Researchers often have no choice but to use secondary data that were collected by third parties for purposes unrelated to any hypothesis test. Even in those less-than-ideal instances, however, an optimal time series can be constructed by limiting the time frame and otherwise paying attention to regime changes. Threats to construct validity that arise from the right-hand side intervention model, such as fuzzy or unclear onset and responses, are controlled by paying close attention to the underlying theory. Even a minimal theory should specify the onset and duration of an impact.