Conceptual comparison of constructs as first step in data harmonization: Parental sensitivity, child temperament, and social support as illustrations.

Autor:	Verhage ML; Clinical Child and Family Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands.; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands., Schuengel C; Clinical Child and Family Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands.; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands., Holopainen A; Clinical Child and Family Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands.; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands., Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ; Clinical Child and Family Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands.; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands., Bernier A; Department of Psychology, University of Montréal, Canada., Brown GL; Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, USA., Madigan S; Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Canada.; Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Calgary, Alberta, Canada., Roisman GI; Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, USA., Vaever MS; Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark., Wong MS; Endicott College, Beverly, MA, USA.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	MethodsX [MethodsX] 2022 Oct 26; Vol. 9, pp. 101889. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Oct 26 (Print Publication: 2022).
DOI:	10.1016/j.mex.2022.101889
Abstrakt:	This article presents a strategy for the initial step of data harmonization in Individual Participant Data syntheses, i.e., making decisions as to which measures operationalize the constructs of interest - and which do not. This step is vital in the process of data harmonization, because a study can only be as good as its measures. If the construct validity of the measures is in question, study results are questionable as well. Our proposed strategy for data harmonization consists of three steps. First, a unitary construct is defined based on the existing literature, preferably on the theoretical framework surrounding the construct. Second, the various instruments used to measure the construct are evaluated as operationalizations of this construct, and retained or excluded based on this evaluation. Third, the scores of the included measures are recoded on the same metric. We illustrate the use of this method with three example constructs focal to the Collaboration on Attachment Transmission Synthesis (CATS) study: parental sensitivity, child temperament, and social support. This process description may aid researchers in their data pooling studies, filling a gap in the literature on the first step of data harmonization.•Data harmonization in studies using combined datasets is of vital importance for the validity of the study results.•We have developed and illustrated a strategy on how to define a unitary construct and evaluate whether instruments are operationalizations of this construct as the initial step in the harmonization process.•This strategy is a transferable and reproducible method to apply to the data harmonization process. Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. (© 2022 The Author(s).)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
Externí odkaz:	Zobrazit plný text záznamu