On Validation

Abstract

In view of the deficient way validation and measurement error are dealt with in Ergonomics/Human Factors research papers, there seems to be much to gain in this multidisciplinary research area. The comparison of practicalities in technical and in social research, which are seen as the main constituents of Ergonomics/Human Factors, elucidates the crucial role that instructions to subjects may play in the emergence of bias as a consequence of the involvement of human beings as part of the research object. Instead of letting validation degenerate into jargon, a framework for measurement criteria is presented. This framework may help to change validation from a defensive ceremony, circling around isolated observations, into a constructive endeavour aimed at general insights into the consequences of human involved research.