Introduction to Survey Validation

This workshop, a part of the MLA Research Training Institute curriculum, is intended for health sciences librarians who are interested in survey-based research. Survey research is popular in library and information science (LIS), but few LIS studies report using validated instruments. In this introductory workshop, we will demystify the core concepts of survey validity, along with survey reliability, and discuss common methods for assessing them. We will explore validity both conceptually, as well as through published examples in LIS, and conclude with a practical blueprint for questionnaire development that you can apply immediately to your own research projects.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

Learn strategies to help validate your survey instrument
Describe the four major types of validity for survey research
Identify practical validation strategies for survey instrument

Audience

Health sciences librarians who are interested in survey-based research.

Presenter

Mark MacEachern, MLIS, RTI Co-Faculty Lead, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8872-1181, is an informationist at the Taubman Health Sciences Library, University of Michigan (UM)–Ann Arbor. As an informationist, MacEachern works closely with health students and professionals on education and research projects. MacEachern teaches systematic review methods and evidence-based practice skills as part of the curricula in several of the UM health sciences schools. He has extensive experience consulting on systematic review projects and leads the Taubman Library’s flipped continuing education course Systematic Reviews: Opportunities for Librarians. MacEachern was the 2019 recipient of the Estelle Brodman Award for the Academic Medical Librarian of the Year. MacEachern received his master of library and information science (MLIS) degree from the University of Western Ontario. Prior to joining the Taubman Health Sciences Library in 2007, MacEachern interned at Mills Memorial Library at McMaster University.