Validation Methodologies and Their Impact in Construction Productivity Research

Choosing validation methods in construction research is challenging. This study explores trends in the use of validation methods and their impacts based on a statistical analysis of a sample set of 365 research articles on construction productivity. This sample set provides a balance of the breadth and cohesion required for significant comparisons and the temporal depth required for longitudinal analysis. The contributions of this research include (1) a critical review of the validation methodologies that can be used for research projects in construction engineering and management, (2) an investigation of the statistical relationship between validation methods and the impact in terms of citations of research over time in different source categories, and (3) statistically significant observations over the preceding thirty years of the increased use of functional demonstration as a validation methodology and the decreased existence of unclear validation. These results may be used in the future to influence the choice of validation methods to increase the impact of construction productivity research. (C) 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.