Most modern public health researchers in the behavioral and social sciences situate their research within a post-positivist framework, either explicitly or implicitly.1,2 Researchers working within a post-positivist framework assume that while objective “truths” of human behavior and experience exist, measuring and defining these realities is at best an approximate science. A physician or clinical researcher can measure blood pressure or CD4 count using precisely calibrated instruments and feel confident in the accuracy of the measurements, but quantifying aspects of human health and well-being is not so simple.