Ideally, scientific method is the foundation of all inquiry in public health. However, in intervention development, this cannot always be assumed to be the case. As new technology has become more readily available to public health researchers and practitioners, it has been understandably enticing to find applications for it in our work. As Abraham Maslow once wrote,2 "I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail." Now that we have many new and exciting tools, not just a hammer, it is logical that we would seek to employ each of them in its intended purpose. However, in research, this is contrary to the scientific method, and in public health practice, potentially counterproductive.
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