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Assessing The Validity Of Statistical Inferences In Public Health Research: An Evidence-Based, ‘Best-Practices’ Approach, Karl E. Peace, Anthony V. Parrillo, Charles J. Hardy

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Like many fields, public health has embraced the process of evidence-based practice to inform practice decisions and to guide policy development. Evidence-based practice is typically dependent upon generalizations made on the bases of the existing body of knowledge – assimilations of the research literature on a particular topic. The potential utility of scientific evidence for guiding policy and practice decisions is grounded in the validity of the research investigations upon which such decisions are made. However, the validity of inferences made from the extant public health research literature requires more than ascertaining the validity of the statistical methods alone; for …