Blackwell Reference Online

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Standardization is a procedure used in science to increase the validity and reliability of research. It is predicated on the principle that truly objective scientific findings ought to be non-contradictory and replicable and that the most efficient technique for facilitating both internal consistency and replication is to ensure that the various aspects of research design and conduct (e.g., measurement instruments, methods of data collection, methods of analysis) do not clash either within the confines of a particular study or from one study to the next. Standardization is thought to fortify scientists against the biases that may otherwise be introduced into research by things like their own personal characteristics and/or the characteristics of the particular social contexts within which research is conducted. The concept standardization is used in two distinct but related senses in science. In a purely descriptive sense, the standardization of research methods secures uniformity in the scientific enterprise by establishing a certain lingua franca within which to conduct meaningful and productive dialogue and debate. Standardized methods facilitate confidence among researchers conforming to them that they and others who also conform are gathering new knowledge about the same empirical phenomena. In the second sense, standardization is less descriptive than prescriptive. Hence one ... log in or subscribe to read full text