Dr. Allison Ruark and Dr. Rebecca Fielding-Miller contributed equally to the writing of this article.
INTRODUCTION
Most modern public health researchers in the behavioral and social sciences situate their research within a post-positivist framework, either explicitly or implicitly.1,2 Researchers working within a post-positivist framework assume that while objective “truths” of human behavior and experience exist, measuring and defining these realities is at best an approximate science. A physician or clinical researcher can measure blood pressure or CD4 count using precisely calibrated instruments and feel confident in the accuracy of the measurements, but quantifying aspects of human health and well-being is not so simple.
Measuring and defining human behavior and experience is at best an approximate science.
Social scientists and public health practitioners face multiple challenges in determining how best to measure social phenomena and various behaviors relevant to public health and how to define precisely what to measure. Efforts to conceptualize and assess important constructs such as self-efficacy, stigma, social norms, sexual identity, violence, and sexual behavior have generated a great deal of research and debate.3-7 From a post-positivist point of view, these phenomena are subjective by their very nature, making them impossible to precisely …