Impact of Tax Audit on Tax Compliance with Reference to Category “A” Taxpayers: A Case Study in Hawassa City Administration, South Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Regional State of Ethiopia

The main issue faced by all tax authorities is that it has never been easy to persuade all taxpayers to comply with the regulations of a tax system. Business sector is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy in Ethiopia. The study specifically sought the effect of tax audit, fines and penalties, and tax education and knowledge on tax compliance in Hawassa City, south nations, nationalities and peoples’ regional state. Population under this research comprises Hawassa City audit officers who are 50 audit officers. Since the number of staff is not large, the study used census approach. Data were collected using structured questionnaire, both primary and secondary data were used. Descriptive statistical tools and correlation and multiple regressions analysis were used in analyzing the data collected. The study findings showed that probability of tax audit, and tax knowledge and education have positive effect on level of tax compliance. Similarly, fines/penalties have positive effect on level of tax compliances. The study provides some preliminary evidence that probability of tax audit, imposing fines/penalties and provision of tax knowledge and education will improve tax compliance. There should be stiff enforcement of fines and penalties to deter tax evasion. Additionally, tax authorities should simplify processes involved in filling of returns and payment of taxes.

major problem inhibiting effective tax administration in emerging economies is tax evasion, i.e., deliberate refusal to pay tax. To combat this ugly phenomenon, various countries of the world have introduced tax audit into their tax system.
According to Kircher (2008), tax audit is the examination of an individual or organization's tax report by the relevant tax authorities in order to ascertain compliance with applicable tax laws and regulations of state. He further reported that tax audit is a process where the internal revenue service tries to confirm the numbers that you have put on your tax return. Ola (2001) stated that the process of tax audit involves tax returns that are selected for audit using some selection criteria. Thereafter, the underlying books and records of the taxpayers are examined critically to relate them to the tax return filed. Tax audit is important because it assists the government in collecting appropriate tax revenue necessary for budget, maintaining economic and financial order and stability, to ensure that satisfactory returns are submitted by the taxpayers, to organize the degree of tax avoidance and tax evasion, to ensure strict compliance with tax laws by tax payers, to improve the degree of voluntary compliance by tax payers, and to ensure that the amount due is collected and remitted to government.
Taxation in developing countries is a challenging topic and has attracted increasing attention to the researchers. Many problems observed like poor tax administration, failing to collect sufficient tax revenues. In many developing countries, it is observed that there is low capacity of tax administration to monitor compliance among taxpayers and the potential amount of tax revenue has not been collected in an efficient and equitable manner (Kircher, 2008).
Therefore, it is very important to study factors that affect tax compliance of the country in order to increase government revenue and assure economic stability. In a country, like Ethiopia, where the contribution of revenue to the overall economic development is believed to be very much significant, more local studies on the assessment of taxpayers voluntary compliance with tax law is required so as to provide the policy-makers and the implementers in the area with relevant information that can help them in designing the appropriate tax system. The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of tax audit on tax compliance in Ethiopia with reference to Hawassa City administration.

Review of Literature Theoretical Framework
A tax audit is an examination of whether a taxpayer has correctly reported its tax liability and fulfilled other obligations. It is often more detailed and extensive than other types of examination, such as general desk checks, compliance visits, or document matching programs (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2006). Most taxpayers report their tax liabilities more accurately if they believe that the tax administration has the capacity to detect any unreported liabilities and that heavy penalty may be applied when they are detected.
There are different types of tax audit which are implemented in different countries. Biber (2010) noted that there are different tax audit program. These are desk audit or verification, field audit, registration check, advisory audit, record keeping audit, refund audit, issue-oriented audit, comprehensive or full audit, and fraud investigation.
The exact meaning of tax compliance has been defined in various ways. For example, Kirchler (2008) perceived a simpler definition in which tax compliance is defined as the most neutral term to describe taxpayers' willingness to pay their taxes. A wider definition of tax compliance, defined in 1978 by Song and Yarbrough suggested that due to the remarkable aspect of the operation of the tax system in the United States and that it is largely based on self-assessment and voluntary compliance, tax compliance should be defined as taxpayers' ability and willingness to comply with tax laws which are determined by ethics, legal environment and other situational factors at a particular time and place. Jackson and Jones (1985) listed 14 main factors that have influenced tax compliance as discussed by various researchers. These factors are age, gender, education, income, occupation or status, peers' or other taxpayers' influence, ethics, legal sanction, complexity, relationship with taxation authority, income sources, perceived fairness of the tax system, possibility of being audited, and tax rate. Various researchers have listed factors that influenced tax compliance, such as demographic, income, compliance cost, and tax agents (Mohani, 2001), in addition to moral or ethical factors (Singh, 2003;Kasipillai, Norhani, & Noor Afza, 2003).

Empirical Reviews
There are several theoretical and empirical studies on tax audit and tax compliance. These studies provide mixed reactions on the relationship between tax audit and tax compliance. Alm James and McKee (2006) investigated the application of experimental methods to examine the individual compliance responses to a "certain" probability of audit, and conclude that the compliance rate rises if an individual knows he will be audited and the rate falls if he knows he will not be audited. Slemrod, Blumenthal, and Christian (2001) examined randomly selected taxpayers and inform them that their filling will be "closely examined' and found evidence of taxpayers' behavior changes in response to an increased probability of audit, although the responses are not uniform among different groups of taxpayers. Mittone & Luigi (2006) investigated that early experience of audits in taxpayers' "tax life" is a more effective way to increase compliance than later audits.
Allingham Michael and Sandmo (1972) claimed that taxpayers will always declare their income correctly if the probability of detection is high. Probability of detection plays a significant role in reporting behavior as taxpayers will declare everything if they perceive that they will be one of the auditees in that particular year. Slemrod, Blumenthal, and Christian (2001) investigated the relationship between the probability of being audited and the taxpayers' responses. The experiment indicated that taxpayers' behavior varied with respect to level of income and the probability of being audited played a significant role in determining taxpayers' evasion behavior. However, the direction of the relationship (positive or negative) was not clearly stated by Slemrod et al. (2001).Conversely, Slemrod et al. (2001) observed that probability of being audited again was negatively correlated with compliance behavior.
According to Palil and Mustapha (2011), a theoretical economic model has clearly indicated that penalties as well as audit probability have an impact on tax compliance. The higher the penalty and the potential audit probability, the greater the discouragement for potential tax evasion. They suggested that to overcome the endogeneity is necessary to control the enforcement environment artificially by using laboratory experiment methods.
Butler (1993), as cited in Palil and Mustapha (2011), also found that tax audits can change compliance behavior from negative to positive. These findings complement the Witte and Woodbury (1985) and the Beron, Tauchen, and Witte (1987) studies. Witte and Woodbury (1985) in their study of small proprietors found that tax audits have a significant role in tax compliance. They did not empirically test individual taxpayers, thus left open room to conduct research in this area. While Witte and Woodbury (1985) found significant results, Beron et al. (1988) found a contradictory result. They reported that audits did not significantly correlate with evasion for all groups they studied. Audits were found to be more effective in inducing taxpayers to over claim deductions rather than encouraging them to correctly report actual income (Beron et al., 1988).
From the foregoing, it is observed that previous studies have evidenced that tax audits play an important role in increasing voluntary compliance. Audits rates and the thoroughness of the audits could potentially encourage taxpayers to be more prudent in completing their tax returns.

Research Design and Approach
A case study was conducted at Hawassa City Category "A" taxpayers. Therefore, this study used descriptive research to examine the effect of tax audit on tax compliance with reference to Category "A" taxpayers. For this research, to utilize the strengths and overcome the weaknesses of qualitative and quantitative approaches, a mixed research method was employed.

Study Population
The study population includes all Ministry of Revenue, Hawassa Branch Audit division staffs or tax auditors including tax officers. Population under this research comprises Hawassa City administration tax audit officers who are 50 audit officers. Since the number of staff is not large, the study used census approach. The researcher administered 50 questionnaires out of which 47 questionnaire were completed and returned.

Sources and Instruments of Data Collection
A structured questionnaire was administered to the population group. Due to the fact that knowledge and perception of tax officers is related to group dynamics, interaction, group values and norms as well as internal and external factors that positively or negatively affect their performance on tax compliance. On the other hand, in order to understand the views, trends, and challenges of the management, a semi-structured key informant interview was conducted with officials of the bureau. Tape recorder was used during the key informant interview to capture all discussions with prior knowledge of discussion participants and the respective interviewee. In addition, secondary data from journals, literatures as well as official reports of tax office was used during analysis.
In addition to the structured questionnaire, semi-structured key informant interview was also held with selected officials in Hawassa City revenue office. Key informant interview is used because of its flexibility. Moreover, it allowed depth to be achieved by providing the opportunity on the part of the interviewer to probe and expand interviewee's responses. This atmosphere enabled the researcher to clarify points and raise fresh questions so as to gain a deeper understanding. (Patton, 2002).

Methods of Data Analysis
Data analysis was done by SPSS version 20. Dependent variable which in this case is tax compliance was analyzed against independent variables, such as tax knowledge, probability of being audited, and tax penalties. Quantitative data findings were triangulated with the qualitative data findings and secondary data findings. Questionnaires received from respondents and interview schedules were checked for completeness with repeat calls being made for incomplete questionnaires to maintain the number of respondents. Categorization and coding was then done and data entered into SPSS for windows version 20 for analysis. Spearman correlation and multiple regressions analysis were also conducted. Finally, the results from SPSS Software were expressed using various descriptive statistical techniques, like frequencies, percentages, means, etc.; and presented using tables and figures.

Description of Study Variables and Model Specification Variable Measurement
In this study, tax compliance was measured using three hypothetical questions. It is based on Palil (2010) and Troutman (1993) with some modification to suit our country's context. The use of hypothetical questions can increase reliability of results and minimizes respondents' dishonesty when answering the questionnaire (Troutman, 1993). The respondents were asked to rate each hypothetical question whether as a taxpayer they would undertake the same action if they faced the same situation using "Strongly disagree" to "Strongly agree", using a likert scale of 1 to 5, respectively. The items that made up the scale include: (1) probability of being audited; (2) tax penalties; and (3) tax knowledge.

Model Specifications
Analysis was done using Spearman correlation and multiple linear regression models. According to Coakes and Steed (2007), multiple regressions are an extension of bivariate correlation. They stated that the result of regression is an equation that represents the best prediction of a dependent variable from several independent variables. Regression analysis is used when independent variables are correlated with one another and with the dependent variable. The regression model used to test is shown below: Where Y = yax compliance; α = constant; β 1 , β 2 , and β 3 = coefficients of independent variables; X 1 = probability of tax audit, X 2 = tax fines and penalties, and X 3 = tax knowledge and education; ∑= error term.
All the above statistical tests were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20. All tests were two-tailed. Significant levels were measured at 95% confidence level with significant differences recorded at p< 0.05.

Demographic Information
Demographic information shows the characteristics of the elements in the sample size: As such the researcher sought to establish the general information of the respondents, which forms the basis under which the interpretations are made. Demographic Factor 1 analyzed the gender of the respondents. This information was necessary to enable the researcher to obtain information on whether the respondents were either male or female. Accordingly, 31 (66%) of the respondents were male whereas 16 (44%) of them were female. Demographic Factor 2 shows the age groups of respondents, 27 (57.4%) of the respondents were below 30 years of age, whereas 20 (42.6%) of them were between 31 and 40 years of age. This result illustrates that most of the tax auditors in Hawassa City administration were generally young (below 30years of age).

Socio-economic Status of Respondents (Tax Auditors)
Educational levels, field of study and work experience of the tax auditors in general are the most important variables that can affect the performance of tax audit as well as tax administration system. In line with these attempts have the educational level of the respondents, field of study and work experience been made to assess. Generally, the respondent's socio-economic status is presented in Table 2.
With regard to field of study, majority of the respondents were specializing in Accounting and Finance which accounts for 87.2% of the total respondents. The remaining 10.7% and 2.1% of the respondents were specializing in Business Management and Economics respectively. As indicated in Table 2, 17% of the respondent (tax auditors) have service year of less than two years, 44.7% of the respondents have service years of two to four years and 38.3% of the respondents have service years of four to six years. This shows that above 83% of Hawassa City Revenue Authority's tax auditors have more than two years of work experience, as tax auditor. As it is discussed in the above paragraphs, the majority of the respondents have a good level of educational qualification that is BA or B.Sc. degree and M.Sc. Degree which enables the respondents to have idea of the tax audit. Moreover, majority of the respondents studied the field related to business which enables them to understand the implementation of taxes and related issues.

Audit Resources
According to Table3, more than 48.9% of respondents indicated that revenue authority has no enough audit staff to perform onsite audit on all taxpayers. Table 3 indicates that only small portion of the respondents (17%) was agreed that the authority has enough staffs to conduct onsite audit. For the effective and efficient tax audit, not only the skill and qualification of tax auditors but also adequate number of tax auditors, materials and equipment necessary for audit have greater impact. Table 3 shows that revenue authority has no enough materials and equipment to facilitate audit program.

Motivational Factors
As it is shown in Table 4, the respondents were in favor of the responsible citizens' approach, such as educating taxpayers, improving relationship with public, providing necessary information about the utilization of the revenue collected, and making the collection system simple and transparent as motivational factors. More details of the results are depicted in Table 4. Table 4 shows a significant size, 36.2% of tax auditors disagrees that "strengthening legal enforcement and penalties" by itself cannot ensure voluntary tax compliance behavior. These people rather have the belief that encouraging the responsible citizens' approach has to be the axis of the motivational factor. Regarding the other measures almost all of the respondents agreed with the possible measures proposed in the study. It is evident from Table 4 that the majority of the respondents (70.2%) agree "improving relationship with the public" and "reducing tax rates and making the collection procedures simple and transparent" (42.6%) could motivate them to pay their fair share of taxes voluntarily. Similarly, conducting different consultation session and educating tax payers (78.7%) is another possible measure which is strongly proposed by the respondents as other motivational factors in the study.

Tax Compliance
Findings on tax compliance reveal that "if the tax authority has limited capability to investigate all income reported to them, so people have an opportunity to not report their exact income" regarded as the highest score value (Mean = 3.77), followed by "the amount of taxable amount and profit is declared by the taxpayer, so it is not wrong to omit or understate the taxable income and the profits declared" (Mean = 3.64), and "if one is paid in cash for a job and then not reporting it in the tax return", it is regarded as the lowest score value(Mean=3.62). Since the amount of taxable amount and profit is declared by the taxpayer so, it is not wrong to omit or understates the taxable income and the profits declared.
3.64 0.845 2 5 If one is paid in cash for a job and then not reporting it in the tax return. 3.62 0.822 1 5 If the tax authority has limited capability to investigate all income reported to them, so people have an opportunity to not report their exact income.

Probability of Tax Audit
Findings on probability of tax audit reveal that "the tax auditors, investigators, and assessors expected to perform during an audit period is detecting non-compliance behavior of individual taxpayer" regarded as the highest score value (Mean = 4.00), followed by "tax audit improves the level of compliance" (Mean = 3.89), and "high probability of audit solves the problems of tax evasion, avoidance, and other irregularities" is regarded as the lowest score value (Mean=3.85).

Fines and Penalties
Findings on fines and penalties reveal "the prospect of tough penalties deter people from evading tax" regarded as the lowest score value (Mean=3.00), "taxpayers who possess an awareness of penalties for non-compliance are more compliant than those who do not possess such awareness" regarded as the highest score value (Mean = 3.77), followed by "if there is no penalty or legal enforcement, there is a possibility that tax payers may not pay tax" (Mean = 3.72).

Tax Knowledge and Education
Findings on tax knowledge and education reveal that "teaching tax evaders to deal effectively with their taxes would reduce future offences" regarded as the highest score value (Mean = 4.43), followed by "the awareness of tax audit makes the taxpayers to render a satisfactory return" (Mean = 4.13), "tax evasion could be best handled though informing & encouraging tax payers to comply voluntarily" (Mean = 4.06) and "tax audit performed in tax administrations is to educate taxpayers" is regarded as the lowest score value (Mean=3.83).

Correlation Statistic
Correlation statistics is a method of assessing the relationship between variables/factors. To be precise, it measures the extent of association between the ordering of two random variables. Thus, the study analyzed the relationships that are inherent among the independent and dependent variables as well as among the independent variables/factors. The results regarding this were summarized and presented in Table 9.  Table 9 showed that tax fines and penalties was positively and significantly correlated to tax compliance (r=0.604, p<0.01). Thus, tax penalty had 60.4% positive relationship with tax compliance. Probability of tax audit was the second component to be positively related with tax compliance (r = 0.299, p<0.05) an indication that tax audits had 29.9% significant positive relationship with tax compliance. Finally, tax knowledge was significantly & positively correlated to tax compliance (r = 0.316, p < 0.05). Therefore, tax compliance cost had 31.6% positive relationship with tax compliance.

Results of Regression Analysis
A multiple linear regression model was used to predict tax compliance in the study. The prediction was carried out basing on the effect of the three independent factors: probability of tax audit, tax fines, and penalties and tax knowledge and education. In addition, the β coefficients for each independent variable generated from the model was subjected to a t-test, in order to test each of the hypotheses under study. The study thus came up with a model summary, the ANOVA and the regression model as presented in Tables 10, 11, and 12.
From Table 10, the result shows that the R-Square with a value of 0.628 implies that about 62.8% of the changes in tax compliance could only be explained by repressors namely; probability of being tax audited (TAXAUDIT), penalties and enforcement (PENALTY) and tax knowledge and education (TAXKNOW) while about 37.2% of the changes in tax compliance (TAXCOMP) could be explained by other factors not included in the model. The ANOVA model in Table 11 showed that the regression model was also adequate. The effect size of the regression model was shown to be over 24 that contributed by the residual mean sum of squares. The F-ratio was 24.152. This represented the effect size of the regression model and was significant with a p-value of 0.000.

Coefficients Model
The regression results in Table 12 show that each of the predicted parameters in relation to the independent factors were significant; β 1 = 0.303 (p-value = 0.002 which is less than α= 0.05) which implies that we reject the null hypothesis stating that there is no significant relationship between probability of tax audit and tax compliance. This indicates that for each unit increase in probability of tax audit, there is 0.303 units increase in tax compliance.
Table 12 also shows that β 2 = 0.664 (p-value = 0.000 which is less than α= 0.05) which indicates that we reject the null hypothesis stating that there is no significant relationship between tax fines and penalties and tax compliance. This implies that for each unit increase in tax fines and penalties, there is up to 0.664 unit increase in tax compliance.
The value of β 3 = 0.204 (p-value = 0.037 which is less than α= 0.05) which implies that we reject the null hypothesis stating that there is no significant relationship between tax knowledge and education and tax compliance. This indicates that for each unit increase in tax fines and penalties, there is up to 0.204 units increase in tax compliance.

Discussion of the Findings
The probability of tax audit has no significant effect on tax compliance. Research findings are not in agreement with the hypothesis since probability of tax audit has coefficient estimate (β 1 = 0.303, p-value =0.002), audit probability have positive effect on tax compliance, thus the higher the potential audit probability, the greater discouragement for potential tax evasion. Therefore, the hypothesis that audit probability has no significant impact on tax compliance behavior of tax payers has been rejected. Probability of audit plays a significant role in reporting behavior as taxpayers will declare everything if they perceive that they will be one of the auditees in that particular year.
Tax fines and penalties have no significant effect on tax compliance. Research findings are not in agreement with the hypothesis since fines and penalties has coefficient estimate (β 2 = 0.664, p-value =0.000), hence Hypothesis 2 does not hold. Higher fines simply reduce the cases of tax evasion thus encouraging tax compliance. The higher the penalty and the potential audit probability the greater the discouragement for potential tax evasion.
Tax knowledge and education has no significant effect on tax compliance. Research findings are not in agreement with the hypothesis since tax knowledge and education has coefficient estimate (β 3 = 0.204, p-value =0.037). A high level of tax knowledge and education contributes immensely to tax compliance. Once individuals have the knowledge pertaining the importance of taxation, they will be influenced to comply without any enforcements or pressure on them.

Conclusions
These study findings provide direct evidence that probability of tax audit is a contributory factor in tax compliance, and an indication of its magnitude effect. From the study findings, there is enough proof to conclude that probability of tax audit is associated with high levels of tax compliance.
The study also provides some preliminary evidence that fines and penalties play a vital role in improving tax compliance. Specifically, for a tax system with fair tax rates of fines and penalties, tax compliance is likely to improve.
Finally, the study concludes that tax knowledge and education has a significant effect on tax compliance. It is therefore prudent for the tax system to enhance education on how to file tax returns and the importance of paying tax.

Recommendations
An effective compliance program requires tax administration to have sufficient powers that enable it to enforce compliance effectively. To encourage compliance, it is important that tax authority administers the law fairly. The tax authority needs to be strong enough in order to implement the tax law effectively and efficiently. Functions, such as tax assessment, collection, awareness creation, providing information and enforcement has to performed effectively and efficiently, so that it will be perceived as strong and powerful by the taxpayers.
In addition to this, efficient service delivery to taxpayers is a key factor against which the strength of the authority is judged. Taxpayers tend to evade to the extent they feel that the authority is weak and unable to enforce the law. This directly motivates non compliers to continue evading. Hence, to create an efficient tax administration, the tax authority needs to strengthen itself by educating and training its employees, by computerizing its operations and by devoting additional resources.
There should be more preventative education for the public and increased awareness of tax responsibilities. Tax payers should be educated early in their career about tax responsibilities. Only through tax education concepts of taxation and tax knowledge can be communicated. Furthermore, taxpayers need more information about their tax obligations and their role in promoting the growth of the economy of the country and the well-being of its citizens. The tax education can be a tool to motivate voluntary compliance by taxpayers. In the context of reaching to the society at large, the tax authority can use the electronic media, such as radio, television, etc. as a means to educate taxpayers and change their perceptions about taxation. All of these promote a positive view to voluntary compliance. This is to teach in citizens a sense of responsibility toward taxes.


extfieldsofstudy: Medicine Psychology

text:
The Gold Standard and the Pyrite Principle: Toward a Supplemental Frame of Reference

In medicine and social sciences, the phrase “gold standard” is often used to characterize an object or procedure described as unequivocally the best in its genre, against which all others should be compared. Examples of this usage are readily available in rigorously peer-reviewed publications, touted by test publishers, and appear in descriptions of methodologies by social science researchers. The phrase does not accurately describe commonly accepted measures, tests, and instruments. Instead, the descriptor can be ambiguous and misleading. This paper presents an overview of the history of the gold standard and its current applications to medicine and the social sciences. We question the use of the phrase “the gold standard” and suggest the additional operational use of a “pyrite principle” as a less presumptuous frame of reference. In thinking about validity and standards, the pyrite principle permits an understanding of standards as authoritative rather than fixed constructs in behavioral and health sciences.

INTRODUCTION
In this paper, we provide an initial examination of the nature of gold, how it links to the concept of the gold standard, and applications of this standard within the scientific realm. We critically consider specific applications of this benchmark to the social and health sciences, and then propose the pyrite principle as a vehicle for rethinking the gold standard in these areas operationally, but not necessarily to be presented in publications. Because the development of the gold standard as an expression of high value has not followed a linear path, we begin with a brief history of gold in human civilization. Gopher et al. (1990) are among the many anthropologists who wrote about the cultural symbolism of gold artifacts in Middle Eastern cemeteries as long as 6000 years ago. These authors cite reports of gold found in Paleolithic caves, although there is no clear evidence that gold was then valued or more than coincidently present at these sites. In fact, ancient cultures did not always consider gold desirable for currency, adornment, or applications in metallurgy. Some eras in human history have prized silver more highly, including at the time of the Roman Empire.

THE TRIUMPH OF GOLD
Overall, though, gold has been highly valued: but why? Rowlatt (2013) compared gold ore to silver, iron, potassium, and many other elements in the periodic table. He concluded that gold has two compelling traits. It is chemically unreactive, so that gold found thousands of years ago has stayed much the same over millennia. Gold is also relatively scarce but not truly rare and, compared with many other valuable elements, not difficult to extract from the earth's silicate mantle. Gold's chemical properties may be contrasted to those of, say, platinum, which has a significantly higher melting point and is denser. Platinum is more difficult to extract, a fact that partially explains its higher cost than gold ore. It is also the reason that gold gained dominance in common currency and, later, as a cultural symbol for objects of great value (Fohr, 2017). For currency purposes, the most common comparison of gold is to silver as a precious metal used for coinage. Indeed, both gold and silver have had historic monetary purposes for millennia. Silver, however, lost ground in 1717 when Sir Isaac Newton, master of Britain's Royal Mint, adopted the gold standard in order to reduce counterfeiting and to elevate the status of his office (Belenkiy, 2013). Parenthetically, Newton also developed the concepts of standard deviations and sampling for assessing weight of the British guinea, a coin containing one-quarter ounce of gold that was minted between 1663 and 1814.

THE ORIGIN OF THE PHRASE "THE GOLD STANDARD"
One major linguistic source, StackExchange's (2016) English Language and Usage offers two equally tenable origins of the phrase "the gold standard." One is conceptual in which a social consensus develops around the perceived value of objects or procedures, and the element with the best quality earns the label of gold-like. The second origin is the literal gold standard as the conventional measure for currency conversion in global markets. In historical terms, financial markets determined the value of a new currency by comparing it to a standard quantity of gold for trading purposes (Claassen, 2005). The 18th century markets did not, as in modern times, use the gold standard to "mean standard of excellence" or "standard of perfection." Indeed, Claassen noted that the market debated the usefulness of the gold standard until adopting a better system of currency valuation.
This etymological discussion segues into the emergence of the term "gold standard" in medical contexts, which appears to apply to social science and physical scientific contexts as well. The diffusion of this term into popular discourse, and into positivistic disciplines such as medicine and science, signals its symbolic triumph, even though the gold standard itself no longer dominates global financial markets. In the scientific arena, the descriptor "gold" is typically a synonym for "best of its kind, " much like the first definition above. For the present purposes, the simple phrase "best of its kind" has less of the absolutism and intense cognitive impact that comes about from interpreting the "gold standard" as the acme of perfection.

THE GOLD STANDARD AND SOCIAL SCIENCE
The term "gold standard" made its way into the social science literature in the twentieth century, following the example of medical science. After Rudd's (1979) editorial in the Archives of Internal Medicine addressed the absence of a gold standard by which to measure patient compliance, the term appeared more often and was applied more broadly in psychology and other social sciences. This disciplinary expansion prompted Lilienfeld et al. (2015) to issue this caution to mental health professionals about using such problematic terms: "We present a provisional list of 50 commonly used terms in psychology, psychiatry, and allied fields that should be avoided, or at most used sparingly and with explicit caveats" (p.2). Lilienfeld et al. referred to "the gold standard" in the popularized (rather than intended sense) as the antithesis of the fallibility principle and faulted scientists who used it. The authors summarized their concerns as follows: In the domains of psychological and psychiatric assessment, there are precious few, if any, genuine "gold standards." Essentially all measures, even those with high levels of validity for their intended purposes, are necessarily fallible indicators of their respective constructs [...]. As a consequence, the widespread practice of referring to even well-validated measures of personality or psychopathology, such as Hare's (2003) Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, as "gold standards" for their respective constructs (Ermer et al., 2012), is misleading (see Skeem and Cooke, 2010). If authors intend to refer to measures as "extensively validated, " they should simply do so (Lilienfeld et al., 2015, p. 4).

PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
Substantial misuses of the phrase the gold standard in terms of tests and measurements have entered the vocabularies of professional and scholarly psychology. In this context, it should be noted that construct validity of tests is never a simple matter. In the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, the American Educational Research Association et al. (2014), with its sibling associations, stated there is rarely if ever a single valid meaning or interpretation that can be attached to a test score (p. 11). Instead, 25 distinct standards for validity of tests have been identified, including normative samples, relationships with other variables, and interpretations of effect size measures.
Following this general starting point, we look at the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS; Wechsler, 1955), and its revisions, which have proven a popular and useful measure for over six decades (Weiss et al., 2010). In a detailed review, Hartman (2009, p. 85) praised the most recent edition of the WAIS (WAIS-IV; Wechsler, 2008) as the "return of the gold standard." This claim bears scrutiny in terms of how the WAIS compares to other measures in the field.
First, the original WAIS and subsequent revisions developed using one of many theories of intelligence. The less popular Stanford-Binet measure of intelligence is the product of a competing theory that is not clearly less useful, or lessvalidated. Indeed Salekin et al. (2014) have reported high correlations between the two tests, high convergent validity, and cogent findings that both tests measure the same construct. Furthermore, the phrase "gold standard, " as used for psychological variables such as intelligence, may not apply to complex social constructs that vary by population, setting, and context. The Stanford-Binet 5 yields IQ scores extending over a wider range of intellectual functioning, providing an additional basis to question the common assignment of the gold standard to the WAIS-IV.
The Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) is another psychological measure often mislabeled as "the gold standard, " in this case for measuring psychopathy (Vitacco et al., 2005). Psychopathy manifests in traits such as lack of anxiety, callousness, antisocial or irresponsible conduct, and manipulative behaviors. Although the PCL-R is unquestionably the most commonly used measure of psychopathy, scholars have raised major issues about its applications and limitations (Skeem and Cooke, 2010;Cox et al., 2013;Murrie et al., 2013). For individuals to obtain a high score on the measure (indicating they are highly psychopathic), they must meet antisocial and criminal behavior criteria (Forouzan and Cooke, 2005;Blackburn, 2007). Contention arises over exactly what the PCL-R measures, which in turn raises issues about whether the descriptor of gold standard, as currently used, is appropriate for PCL-R based assessments of psychopathy.
The marketing of psychological measures also draws on the phrase "gold standard, " occasionally with an awareness of the limitations of the descriptor. For example, Maggi M. Reiss, president of IDS Publishing, wrote that the Reiss Motivation Profile of Developmental Disabilities, ". . .represents the 'gold standard' in its field." The quotation marks used by Reiss suggest a qualified use of the phrase. Nevertheless, it is clear that that use of the phrase is an example of marketing hyperbole rather than objective evaluation of the Reiss Motivation Profile for diagnostic purposes.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) is another example of how "gold standard" is used in the mental health field. After examining state and federal case law, Perlin (2015) reported that expert witnesses regularly refer to the DSM-5 as the gold standard for diagnosing mental illness. Although the DSM was characterized for decades as the gold standard, some scholars (e.g., Pickersgill, 2014;Browne, 2017;Bachem and Casey, 2018) have argued that the diagnostic reliability of the DSM-5 was compromised by problems in construct validity and simplistic conceptualizations of diagnoses. Rudd's (1979) call to keep searching for a gold standard in medical science fits with a more practical view of the DSM as one of the best taxonomies currently available for diagnosis, and recognizes the difficulty of establishing validity for all conditions and contexts.
An additional issue in characterizing the DSM-5 as the gold standard for diagnostic purposes concerns the alternative International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM). The ICD-10-CM classifies diagnoses, symptoms, and procedures in the health sector. The DSM-5 only includes psychological disorders, while the ICD-10-CM includes similar diagnoses as well as other medical conditions. The existence of both classification systems poses this question: in one area of knowledge, can there be contemporaneous "gold standards"?

THE GOLD STANDARD IN EXPERIMENTAL AND APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCE
The gold standard appears in two guises in descriptions of programmatic treatment research, either as a taken-for-granted standard for behavioral interventions, or as the basis for critiques when these interventions fail to live up to expectations. In both cases, the meaning of the gold standard implies a perfection unattainable in real-world interventions. For example, Padian et al. (2010) reviewed 36 randomized control trials (RCTs) for information of whether male circumcision, vaccination, and antiretroviral drug therapy prevented HIV transmission to sexual partners. The authors reported "flat" results, which they attributed to poor adherence or inadequate design and implementation of the standardized protocol. Poetically, they joined in the frequent and desirable embrace of multimethod approaches that offer "the strength and affordability that make alloys like steel so useful and durable" (p.10). Padian and colleagues issued a caution over gold standard assumptions in experimental social science, and recommended an "alloy" of multiple methods and lines of evidence in specific guidelines for HIV prevention. In the same sense, Chesney (2006) encouraged thinking of research methods as an adaptive rather than perfectionist model. It may well be that reconceptualizing RCT standards is a path toward promoting and accepting positive elements of design and methodology, rather than applying the gold standard label to behavioral interventions. For example, Najavits (2015) wrote that questions about rates of retention in lauded treatment programs for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) mean that claims of superiority for one PTSD therapy over another ring hollow, unless they account for the real-world conditions that drive rates of retention.
This critique of common uses of the gold standard may apply equally to evidence-based interventions. For example, Bovaird (2014) argued that macro-level policies derived from "best evidence" behavioral interventions (say, for obesity reduction or smoking cessation) are likely to fail if policymakers assume that the one-size-fits-all model accommodates all groups and conditions. For this reason, Bovaird asserted, "a gold standard may turn out (as in economics) to be a serious handicap in policy-making" (p. 20). A return to conceptualizing the gold standard as a flexible model in continuing evolution (Duggan, 1992) would address the fallibility of one-size-fits-all policies in public health planning.
In his presidential address to the American Society of Criminology, Clear (2010) voiced concerns about the value placed on randomized field trials (RFTs) (akin to the RCT) as the gold standard in criminology. Clear challenged the one-size-fitsall model for his discipline and voiced objections to RFTs as the gold standard. Clear concluded that the RFT standard is "more of a copper standard than gold, " because it appears to perpetuate certain standardized protocols or criteria that frustrate the need for a more nuanced approach to behavioral interventions. Hough (2010) and Sampson (2010) voiced similar concerns about rigidly experimental criminology. They advocated the use of both qualitative and quantitative approaches to identify effective ways to prevent crime because, "these questions [about why people offend and how to stop it] are much more complex that those about the impact of pharmaceutical treatments" (Hough, 2010, p. 19). Hough concluded that no one method has proven better in predicting, controlling, or preventing criminality. A similar conclusion was reached by Sampson (2010) who declared "Criminologists should dispense with the use of 'gold standard' language (even in quotes!), and get on with the hard business of doing good research" (p. 499).

MULTIPLE MEANINGS OF GOLD STANDARD
To this point, our exploration of the gold standard has proceeded as if it presented a unitary concept, and as if there is a clear and shared understanding of its meaning. We began with this approach because the modern use of "gold standard" often appears as an inflexible approach to scientific research. Although some common usages are present, there are perhaps five different possible meanings of the gold standard in the social and behavioral sciences. The following list is preliminary, but these meanings seem to stand out for frequency and relevance.
In this usage, calling a test or procedure the gold standard may be a simple scholarly affirmation of worth. It serves as a seal of approval for a particular method in a sub-discipline or field of study. This praiseworthiness interpretation prompted Claassen (2005) to caution against using the term "gold standard" in absolutist and perfectionistic terms, as if it were an endpoint. On the one hand, Claassen reminded us that "gold standard" originated as a measure of a currency's worth compared to gold, not as a gold medal for a best or even unsurpassable standard. On the other hand, the gold standard in many fields in English-language use is straightforward exemplary praise.
2. As excellence. Proponents of some quantitative ones over methods commonly subsumed as "other" or of inferior quality have sometimes applied the label gold standard to their social science methodologies. Qualitative methods (e.g., for observational studies) fit this description of "other inferior methods, " although they are more commonly now research approaches in their own right. Critics of heavily quantitative methods cite implementation, statistical, and programmatic failures in experimental research that ignore differences in population, purpose, and cultural context. The phrase gold standard has been used injudiciously to describe excellence in quantitative approaches.
3. As aspiration. This usage is subtler, but some observers have seen it in applications of the PCL-R and the DSM-5, as well as the CRISPR gene-editing technique, criticized for extensive off-target effects (Evers et al., 2014). The conceptual use of gold standard as a target for research and measurement excellence is an infrequent but more appropriate application.
4. As marketing device. The preceding discussion reported using the term gold standard to market the Reiss Motivation Profile of Developmental Disabilities. The descriptor occurs in many other marketing contexts in which the product name includes the term "gold standard." These applications include Gold Standard Whey, Gold Standard Global Goals, Gold Standard Rewards for bank debit cards, and Gold Standard production of shanks and screws. With such broad usage, the gold standard is in jeopardy of overuse, edging to triteness. The popularized view of gold standard in terms of exceptionalism is contrary to the scientific method.
5. As a simplistic concept, that impedes flexible cognitions. One does not read much specifically about the quality of so-called gold standards in psychology and other social sciences. There are no descriptions comparable to 18 karat (or 75% pure gold) or 24-karat pure gold, the latter of which is too soft for everyday use. Nickel, zinc, silver and various alloys are ways to improve the usability and durability of metals. The same need for multiple ways of considering quality of gold for any practical purpose appears applicable to the social sciences. Claassen's (2005) perspective seeks a return to a conceptualization of the gold standard as "the best tool available at the present time" instead of "a level of perfection that can never be attained [...]" (p. 1121).
This article has addressed why scholars should not continue to use the phrase "the gold standard" to describe best practices or rigorous social science. A fundamental reason for skepticism is that a one-size-fits-all standard of excellence stymies good research. After all, if the field is already using gold, why keep looking? Perhaps a more compelling caution is that the phrase invokes a false sense of validity that is misleading for the researcher, the practitioner, and the layperson alike. Those problems lead our discussion to consideration of the pyrite principle.

THE PYRITE PRINCIPLE: A SUPPLEMENTAL CONCEPTUALIZATION
We propose the construct of the pyrite principle to supplement the idea of a gold standard in conceptualizing research and practice. This principle would help to address the presumptuousness of the "one way to perfection" interpretation. Pyrite is iron sulfide, the most common of the many sulfides, and is also pejoratively known as false gold or fool's gold. The label false gold came about because of a superficial similarity to the appearance of gold. Gold is shiny, relatively soft, and bright yellow. False gold has a history of being mistaken for real gold because of its brassy yellow color and metallic luster. It is false in the sense of having not real value in currency markets. However, pyrite has a long history of being a profoundly useful mineral in human development and contemporary applications. In his definitive volume on pyrite, Rickard (2015) starts with observing its essential role in fire lighting in ancient civilizations and providing material for cave paintings. He goes on to develop in depth the role of pyrite crystals and a core material for many current scientific breakthroughs. He describes how pyrite has played an essential role in the development of crystallography and how the sulfur from pyrite is used in a remarkable range of applications, from the modern arms industry to metal extraction, and from the electronics industry to the study of free radicals.
Why consider a pyrite principle as a supplemental way of thinking about standards, instead of, say, the silver standard? The answer is that pyrite is already linked linguistically and visually to gold; even with the unbecoming label of fool's good, it is a useful and meaningful mineral in a wide variety of contexts.
We are not proposing that, in research publications, scholars should state that the methods or measures have attained a pyrite standard. That would open up a marked possibility for ridicule. However, there are cogent reasons to include this principle in thinking about excellence in research methods and social science literature. First, the pyrite principle does not use hyperbole as a core concern. It eliminates surplus meanings associated with the word "gold." The fact that pyrite is referred to as false gold promotes a sense of humility in its use. In a parallel sense, the understanding of social science constructs is imperfect. The worth of these constructs diminishes with methodological overreaches, implicit biases, and loss of social and cultural acuity. Including the pyrite label in social science thinking indicates awareness of such limitations for cautionary purposes. The pyrite principle seeks to get the social sciences unstuck from overuse of gold standard because it is a simplistic, one-dimensional positivistic frame of reference. In other words, the time might be right for experimental use of the humble pyrite construct in scholarly and professional vocabularies.
For these reasons, a pyrite framing is a potentially useful if modest conceptual addition to behavioral sciences. This modestly useful description would apply to adding its flexibility to discussions of the DSM-5, of research methodologies, and of various positivist interventions. Acknowledging the limitations of these concepts in research places them in a more flexible frame of reference.

CONCLUSION
It is reasonable to conclude that there is no gold standard in conceptualizing the use of the term "gold standard, " at both a meta and practical level. No amount of historical, linguistic, or research analysis is likely to stop its use. Indeed, if one extrapolates the linguistic devices that identify levels of credit cards and frequent flyer programs-blue or green, silver, gold, sapphire, platinum, titanium, and so on-onto scientific and medical labeling, the various overstatements may well increase. The task for the critical reader and cautious scientist is to view all such exaggerations with skepticism. It is not that useful methodologies and products are unavailable; it is how much one buys into hyperbolic aspects that is the issue.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
The initial concept of the pyrite principle was developed by SB as was the history of gold and the gold standard. The literature review tasks were equally divided with SB assuming responsibility for psychological literature and BL assuming responsibility of medical and sociological literature. The comparison of pyrite to gold and the development and application of the pyrite principle as an alternative to the gold standard was undertaken jointly.