Reconsidering the Role of Design Standards in Developing Effective Safety Labeling: Monolithic Recipes or Collections of Separable Features?

Abstract

Objective This research investigated whether safety labeling design guidelines, such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z535 series, contribute to better warnings. Background Studies investigating the impact of safety label formatting on warning effectiveness have produced mixed findings. Additionally, research has failed to find a consistent relationship between measures of predicted and actual compliance. One commonality is that all of these studies have investigated the ANSI Z535 guidelines as a binary variable rather than as an integrative system of separable features. Method We measured predicted compliance using both a within-subjects and a between-subjects design, but actual compliance using only a between-subjects design. Data were analyzed using both analysis of variance and linear/probit regressions to test the relationships between warning features recommended in the ANSI Z535 guidelines and measures of behavioral compliance. Results Predicted compliance assessed via a within-subjects design differed greatly from predicted compliance assessed via a between-subjects design. Levels of predicted and actual compliance were most similar when both measures were assessed using a between-subjects design. Consistent with previous research, location had a strong relationship with actual compliance, but surprisingly, presence of an ANSI-style orange warning header had a negative relationship with compliance. Conclusion The choice of experimental design and analytical methods can dramatically influence a study’s results and conclusions drawn. This research identified several aspects of experimental design that should be considered in future research on warning effectiveness. Application Testing features recommended in the ANSI Z535 guidelines under varying conditions can contribute to the development of more effective warnings.

Designing, executing, and publishing replication research: Best practices for successfully taking replication ideas from conceptualization to publication

“…When introducing new variables, it is helpful if the researcher motivates the introduction of these variables and proposes new hypotheses to test that will generate an understanding of the impact of these variables (e.g., Hammond et al, 2023;Obenauer, 2023;Obenauer & Rezaei, 2023). Choosing not to articulate hypotheses and utilize a research question is also possible (e.g., Chang et al, 2016;Hopp & Pruschak, 2023;Kalsher et al, 2019), though this method can make defining successful replication more difficult. As shown in the cited examples, I have used all three approaches.…”

“…Rather it serves as a starting point for members of a field that recognizes the need for replication, but also lacks resources to guide researchers in replication. I will provide this guidance by drawing on my own experience publishing replication research (Kalsher et al, 2019;Obenauer, 2023;Obenauer & Kalsher, 2023;Obenauer & Rezaei, 2023) as well as patterns that I have observed in the literature.…”

#MeToo, Covid-19 and the new workplace: re-examining institutional discrimination's impact on workplace harassment of expatriates following two exogenous shocks

“…Researchers have trended towards using the word close because these replications typically have small differences, such as time of data collection, differences in participants and unavoidable differences in methodology that may or may not be detectable (Brandt et al, 2014). Close replications allow research to be directly compared to a target study in such a way that the research contributes to an ongoing dialogue in the literature (Kalsher et al, 2019). Close replications may also be referred to as direct replications when they occur within the same population as the target study and empirical generalizations when they occur in different populations (Dau et al, 2022).…”

“…, 2014). Close replications allow research to be directly compared to a target study in such a way that the research contributes to an ongoing dialogue in the literature (Kalsher et al. , 2019).…”

Electrophysiological evidence for the effectiveness of images versus text in warnings

“…However, inappropriate or unheeded warnings cause thousands of injuries or deaths each year 2 . Therefore, as a research area of great value to society, the study of warning signs has attracted the attention of a large number of scholars 3 , 4 .…”