What is the process for establishing reliability in quasi-experimental research?

As a consultant psychiatrist and chief medical officer, the reliability of research methodologies is paramount in advancing our understanding of mental health. In quasi-experimental research, the meticulous consideration of test-retest, inter-rater, internal consistency, and parallel forms reliability ensures robustness in our findings. It's not just about the measures we use but the reliability that underpins the insights we gain.

Reliability and validity are both measures of the quality of the data that have been collected. Reliability addresses the question: 'If I were to conduct the same research again and the circumstances have not changed, would I get the same result?’ This concept is key, as it pertains to the reproducibility of your findings. A reliable study is thus one that can be reproduced under the same conditions and yield the same outcomes. Particularly in healthcare high reliability of a ‘disease’ screening instrument is essential

Test-retest reliability: Assessing consistency of results when the same measure is administered to the same participants at different times. Important for ensuring measurement stability. Inter-rater reliability: Measuring agreement between different raters or observers scoring the same data. Crucial for studies relying on subjective assessments. Internal consistency reliability: Evaluating the consistency of responses within a single measure with multiple items. Ensures the measure taps into a single underlying construct. Parallel forms reliability: Measuring consistency when different versions of the same measure are used with the same participants. Useful for testing alternative question formats.

They also use groups or patients on a non random criteria. Impact on a new order study so they have no clue on the outcome or impact.

Selection bias: Non-randomly assigned groups may differ in ways that influence the outcome, making it difficult to isolate the effect of the intervention. History: External events may occur during the study that impact both groups, confounding the results. Maturation: Participants may naturally change over time, regardless of the intervention, affecting the outcome. Instrumentation: Changes in measurement tools or procedures can introduce inconsistencies in data collection. Regression to the mean: Participants with extreme scores at baseline may naturally move closer to the average over time, regardless of the intervention.

From the beginning these groups are based on non random criteria. They are used for social experiments and not randomly. Saying variables and estimates is unethical because these are studies for adverse events. With my own experience with these events they can be deadly

In my view, applying artificial intelligence will impact the reliability of quasi-experimental research enormously. AI will improve our data analysis capabilities as never before. Large amounts of data can be analyzed and patterns can be easily distinguished. Pattern analysis will especially be useful for the assessment of the reliability of any measurement instrument. AI will be able to enhance the internal consistency of any measurement scale by quickly identifying outliers.

Improve group equivalence: Use matching techniques or statistical adjustments to minimize initial differences between groups. Pilot testing: Conduct small-scale studies to refine measures and procedures before the main study. Standardization: Clearly define procedures, protocols, and measurement tools to ensure consistency across raters and time points. Blind data collection and analysis: Minimize researcher bias by concealing group assignment during data collection and analysis. Triangulation: Use multiple data sources or methods to corroborate findings and enhance reliability. Statistical controls: Employ statistical techniques like regression analysis to account for pre-existing differences between groups.

Facts are some people like my daughter there is a medication that is a generic drug called Topiramate which is Trokendi XR remember this pertains to a fact with one person. Now the generic Topiramate the generic had her have seizures why? Adverse effect was due to other medications she is taking ex. One of many carbamepazine lowers the full effect where the seizure threshold lowers and causes seizures. Now the Trokendi same medication real brand does not. True fact

In quasi experimental study done in group of similar characters like school, or certain level of hospital with same features in terms of patients characteristic and services they provide, then the investigator may decide to set one group as interventional and other control.

The specific type of quasi-experiment: Different designs (e.g., nonequivalent groups, interrupted time series) have different strengths and weaknesses regarding reliability. The research context: Some contexts may lend themselves to more effective control of threats to reliability than others. Transparency and communication: Clearly acknowledge the limitations of quasi-experimentation and discuss the strategies employed to enhance reliability.