PhD Defence Benjamin Kinnear

Keywords: Validity, Argument, Argumentation theory 
 

"From Evidence to Argument: Bringing Validity to Life in Health Professions Education Assessment"

This thesis explores the concept of validity as it applies to learner assessment in health professions education. Validity is central to assessment, and it in recent years it is conceptualized as a type of argument that is made to support or justify assessment decisions. However, little is understood about what ‘argument’ means in this context, or how arguments should be constructed or evaluated. In this thesis, the author uses qualitative methods and taps into Argumentation Theory to further explore how the concept of ‘argument’ is understood and enacted in health professions education assessment validity. They find that arguments are often minimized or absent from assessment validity, specifically noting that argument audiences are missing. The author proposes that by foregrounding argumentation in validation work, validity arguments can be more impactful for stakeholders of assessment such as learners and patients.

Click here for the live stream.