ABSTRACT
The field trials were not research conducted for the purpose of testing and comparing the efficacy of the completed manual in relation to the efficacy of other systems of diagnosis. The field studies were primarily concerned with debugging the new classification system: Could clinicians understand how to use the manual, were the instructions clear, were the descriptions of disorders adequate. The field testing was a method of gauging how user-friendly the new product was and how much resistance might be encountered; it was not a final or comprehensive assessment of the scientific credibility of the instrument. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) used a variety of settings to field test the manual. Although the issue of reliability became a matter of primary concern in the reports of subsequent field trial research, most of the initial studies did not concentrate on this subject.
