Uses of the viable validity concept: A systematic scoping review

The concept of viable validity was first defined in 2010 within the framework of the integrative validity model. The concept has continued to evolve in the intervening years, and the purpose of this systematic scoping review is to describe and analyze the ways in which it has been deployed and appropriated by various research traditions.

We began by including all articles which cite Chen's original article "The bottom-up approach to integrative validity: a new perspective for program evaluation (Eval Program Plann. 2010;33(3):205-14) and/or contain the terms "viable validity" or "viable cogency," sourced from 5 databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Psycinfo and ResearchGate).

we selected and included 31 articles published between 2011 and 2022. These studies fall into three major research traditions (evaluation science, population health intervention research and humanities and social sciences), providing a broad overview of the conceptual mobilization of viable validity. Paradoxically, our literature reveals the concept of viable validity to be poorly operationalized and only partially mature, owing to a lack of consensus among the research traditions with regard to its definition, as well as the porous boundaries between this concept and adjacent concepts such as feasibility and acceptability.

Viable validity is a complex concept, and its operational application constitutes a major challenge for research into and evaluation of population health interventions.