The field of epidemiology and biostatistics is one that requires intensive research, which yields practical results. While epidemiology of public health focuses on an overall improvement of human health, biostatistics tries to ensure that research provides results that are productive in alleviation of diseases. As a result, the field of epidemiology is subject to a number of biostatistics terms that help researchers undertake their initiatives successfully. The terms are very fundamental and help researchers strive to collect data, which can help minimize diseases that affect several contemporary societies. Validity is one of the biostatistics terms used by researchers as they collect, summarize, and analyze epidemiological data that concern public health. It is within this backdrop that the essay defines, explains, and examines the competences of validity as a biostatistics term relevant to the epidemiology of public health.
In technical and basic terms, validity implies the accuracy of data and the magnitude of soundness held by collected information. In addition to accuracy and soundness of data, validity examines the extent to which collected data ascertains the intended objective. For instance, dentists can do a research to establish the rate of elders, who have dental issues. In the context of the research, validity establishes the level of soundness and the extent to which collected data reflects the actual state in the field. As such, validity tries to establish the rate at which collected information portrays a clear picture of what transpires in the field. In the explanation of Balcer (2010), validity presents mirror through which researchers can establish the actual events in relation to the subject of study. Therefore, as a biostatistics term, validity is essential and researchers in the sector of epidemiology of public health cannot underscore.
Currently, there are various sources help expound the meaning of validity as used in the field of research. Research books, journal articles, newsletters, and audiovisual media comprise some of the primary and secondary sources of information that discuss matters, which relate to validity. Although these sources use different wordings to present the actual meaning of validity, the definitions revolve around a number of pillars. The pillars are accuracy, soundness, and actual representation of facts. Therefore, it is in order to state that validity is the soundness, accuracy, and the extent to which the information collected represents the state of affairs in the field of study. Balcer (2010) asserts that the collected information should be precise and accurate in all aspects so that the subject of study receives correct and timely diagnosis. One of the limitations associated with validity, which is a biostatistics term, regards the ability to ascertain and identify untrue research. Apparently, researchers have advanced very little literature in relation to the methods that medical practitioners in the sector of epidemiology can utilize in order to differentiate valid research from those that are not valid.
Concisely, validity is a practical biostatistics term that researchers in various fields, which include epidemiology, employ in their studies. In several instances, researchers strive to ensure that what they collect from the field is real, accurate, and to the point of study. In actual sense, validity is a guide that compels researchers to produce information that is rewarding and productive. It is important to explain that wrong information can lead to inaccurate diagnosis and severe outcomes. Therefore, researchers utilize the term in their engagements, and in turn, develop workable, realistic, and accurate findings.
Reference
Balcer, L. (2010). Basic Epidemiologic and Biostatistics Terminologies. Philadelphia: Wiley & Sons.