51cg

Professor Verity Watson

Professor Verity Watson
Professor Verity Watson
Professor Verity Watson

Honorary Chair

51cg

Biography

Professor Watson is internationally recognized for advancing discrete choice experiments in health economics for over 25 years. Her research addresses the fundamental question: "does this method actually measure what we think it measures?" focusing on methodological rigor and validity in preference elicitation.

Professor Watson has contributed to over £19 million in competitive research funding as an investigator on 25+ grants from GCRF, ESRC, MRC, NIHR, and Chief Scientist Office. Her research has generated 75+ peer-reviewed publications (5,258 citations; h-index: 33) in leading journals including Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Health Economics, Social Science and Medicine, and The Lancet Public Health.

She has supervised eight PhD students to completion and serves as international PhD examiner and was a Chief Scientist Office grant review panel member. Professor Watson was International Visiting Scholar at the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, University of British Columbia.

Professor Watson currently is a Senior Economist in the Health Preference Assessment group at RTI Health Solutions, leading preference research studies supporting regulatory submissions and health technology assessments for pharmaceutical companies. She serves on the Editorial Board of The Patient - Patient-Centered Outcomes Research.

She created the one of the most-viewed educational video on DCEs (7.9k+ views) and regularly contributes to industry publications including ISPOR's Value & Outcomes Spotlight. At ISPOR 2025, she participated in the issue panel "Patient Preference Evidence in Health Technology Assessment: What Do We Really Know?"

Professor Watson was Personal Chair at HERU, leading the Preference and Value research theme until 2024. She continues as Honorary Professor since 2024.

CV.pdf

Qualifications

  • PhD Economics 
    2003 - 51cg 
  • MSc Economics 
    1998 - Glasgow University 
  • MA(Hons) Economic Science 
    1997 - 51cg 

Latest Publications

  • Estimating the value of the health and wellbeing benefits of the NHS Scotland outdoor estate: a cross-sectional study

    Loria-Rebolledo, L., Chalmers, N., Watson, V., Boyers, D., Antunes, M.
    UK Public Health Science Conference, pp. A1
    Contributions to Journals: Abstracts
  • NHS Scotland's open space health benefits from recreation and use of outdoor estate

    Loria Rebolledo, L., Boyers, D., Watson, V., Antunes, M., Chalmers, N.
    Non-textual Forms: Data Sets and Databases
  • Valuing the health and wellbeing benefits of NHS Scotland’s outdoor estate: How NHS staff uses and values the outdoor estate

    Loria Rebolledo, L., Boyers, D., Watson, V., Antunes, M., Chalmers, N.
    Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes (SEFARI). 40 pages
    Books and Reports: Other Reports
  • 'Come and work here!’ Qualitative research exploring community-led initiatives to improve healthcare recruitment and retention in remote and rural areas

    Locock, L., Maclaren, A., Skea, Z., Angell, L., Cleland, J., Dawson, T., Denison, A., Dobson, C., Hollick, R., Murchie, P., Skatun, D., Watson, V.
    Health and Social Care Delivery Research, vol. 13, no. 34
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • ‘Get away from it all’ or ‘Too good to be true?’: a qualitative exploration of job advertisements for remote and rural posts

    Skea, Z. C., Locock, L., Tse, B., Maclaren, A., Angell, L., Cleland, J., Dawson, T., Denison, A., Dobson, C., Hollick, R., Murchie, P., Skatun, D., Watson, V.
    Rural and Remote Health, vol. 25, no. 3, 9498
    Contributions to Journals: Articles

View My Publications

Research

Research Overview

Professor Watson's research focuses on the validity and reliability of stated preference methods, particularly discrete choice experiments and contingent valuation. Her work addresses the fundamental question: "does this method actually measure what we think it measures?"

She examines the cognitive processes underlying preference elicitation and investigates factors that influence response quality, developing approaches to improve the reliability of preference data. This methodological focus on validity testing has established best practices that guide researchers in understanding when and how stated preference methods can be reliably applied across different contexts and populations.

Professor Watson's research spans health economics, environmental economics, and public policy applications, bridging methodological innovation with real-world implementation. Her work enables pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and policymakers to make confident decisions based on robust preference evidence.

Through her role at RTI Health Solutions, Professor Watson translates academic research advances directly into practical applications that inform healthcare decision-making and pharmaceutical development.

Research Specialisms

  • Economics
  • Health Policy
  • Health and Social Care
  • Health and Welfare
  • Public Policy

Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is , published under the licence.

Knowledge Exchange

Professor Watson is committed to making preference research methodology accessible to diverse audiences beyond academia. She created an animated educational video on discrete choice experiments that has become the most-viewed resource on this topic globally (7.9k+ views), reaching thousands of researchers, students, and industry professionals.

She regularly contributes thought leadership to industry publications, including ISPOR's Value & Outcomes Spotlight, and presents at major international conferences. At ISPOR 2025, she will participate in the issue panel "Patient Preference Evidence in Health Technology Assessment: What Do We Really Know?" and delivered a podium presentation on valuing healthcare outdoor spaces.

Through her role at RTI Health Solutions, Professor Watson directly translates academic research into practical applications for pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organizations. The annual DCE course that Professor Watson co-created in 2003 has trained over 500 professionals globally, establishing methodological best practices across academic, government, and industry sectors.

Supervision

Professor Watson has supervised eight PhD students to successful completion, who have gone on to careers in both academia and industry. She serves as an international PhD examiner, contributing to research quality and capacity building in health economics globally.

Teaching

Non-course Teaching Responsibilities

In 2003, Professor Watson co-created the internationally recognized course "Using Discrete Choice Experiments in Health Economics," which she continues to teach annually in Aberdeen and internationally. Over 22 years, this course has trained 500+ researchers and industry professionals from academic institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and consulting firms worldwide, establishing DCE best practices across the field.

Professor Watson is committed to making complex methodology accessible. Her animated educational video on discrete choice experiments has become the most-viewed resource on this topic globally, reaching thousands of researchers, students, and industry professionals.

Publications

Page 1 of 2 Results 1 to 50 of 72

  • Estimating the value of the health and wellbeing benefits of the NHS Scotland outdoor estate: a cross-sectional study

    Loria-Rebolledo, L., Chalmers, N., Watson, V., Boyers, D., Antunes, M.
    UK Public Health Science Conference, pp. A1
    Contributions to Journals: Abstracts
  • NHS Scotland's open space health benefits from recreation and use of outdoor estate

    Loria Rebolledo, L., Boyers, D., Watson, V., Antunes, M., Chalmers, N.
    Non-textual Forms: Data Sets and Databases
  • Valuing the health and wellbeing benefits of NHS Scotland’s outdoor estate: How NHS staff uses and values the outdoor estate

    Loria Rebolledo, L., Boyers, D., Watson, V., Antunes, M., Chalmers, N.
    Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes (SEFARI). 40 pages
    Books and Reports: Other Reports
  • 'Come and work here!’ Qualitative research exploring community-led initiatives to improve healthcare recruitment and retention in remote and rural areas

    Locock, L., Maclaren, A., Skea, Z., Angell, L., Cleland, J., Dawson, T., Denison, A., Dobson, C., Hollick, R., Murchie, P., Skatun, D., Watson, V.
    Health and Social Care Delivery Research, vol. 13, no. 34
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • ‘Get away from it all’ or ‘Too good to be true?’: a qualitative exploration of job advertisements for remote and rural posts

    Skea, Z. C., Locock, L., Tse, B., Maclaren, A., Angell, L., Cleland, J., Dawson, T., Denison, A., Dobson, C., Hollick, R., Murchie, P., Skatun, D., Watson, V.
    Rural and Remote Health, vol. 25, no. 3, 9498
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • ‘Come and work here!’: A qualitative exploration of local community-led initiatives to recruit and retain health care staff in remote and rural areas of the UK

    Maclaren, A., Locock, L., Skea, Z., Angell, L., Cleland, J., Dawson, T., Denison, A., Dobson, C., Hollick, R., Murchie, P., Skåtun, D., Watson, V.
    Journal of Health Services Research & Policy, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 180-188
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Over 30 Years of Discrete Choice Experiment Studies in Health Economics: Systematic Review of Current Practice and Reflections on Evolving Practice

    Loria-Rebolledo, L., Watson, V., Mohan, D., Vass, C. M., Antunes, M., Burns, D., Ryan, M.
    ISPOR 2025, pp. S348
    Contributions to Journals: Abstracts
  • Validating and Updating the OHTS-EGPS Model Predicting 5-year Glaucoma Risk among Ocular Hypertension Patients Using Electronic Records

    Wright, D. M., Azuara-Blanco, A., Cardwell, C., Montesano, G., Crabb, D. P., Gazzard, G., King, A. J., Hernández, R., Morgan, J. E., Higgins, B., Takwoingi, Y., GRIP Study Group, Booth, A., Rowlands, A., McNaught, A., Scott, A., King, A., Azuara-Blanco, A., Cardwell, C., Dimitriou, C., Wright, D. M., Crabb, D. P., Ahmed, F., Montesano, G., Gazzard, G., Wu, H., Morgan, J. E., Weir, L., French, L., Nagar, M., Rafiq, O., Sebastian, R., Watson, V., Takwoingi, Y.
    Ophthalmology Glaucoma, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 143-151
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • ICANEQUAL multi-stakeholder partnership: Reducing inequalities in liver cancer (HCC) diagnosis, treatment and care across the UK

    Tripathee, S., Treweek, S., Van Hemelrijck, M., Ross, P., Watson, V., MacLennan, G., Guntupalli, A. M., Adams, J., Majmudar, B., Murchie, P., Bekheit, M., MacLennan, S. J.
    NIHR Open Research, vol. 5, no. 5
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Valuing the health and wellbeing value of the NHS Scotland’s outdoor estate: How are NHS open spaces used and what is their value to the Scottish population

    Loria-Rebolledo, L. E., Boyers, D., Watson, V., Antunes, M., Chalmers, N.
    Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes (SEFARI). 76 pages
    Books and Reports: Other Reports
  • Preferences of Recent Mums in Remote and Rural Areas for Type of Intrapartum Care: A Discrete Choice Experiment

    Loria Rebolledo, L., Van Woerden, H., Bryers, H., Erdem, S., Watson, V.
    The Patient - Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, vol. 17, pp. 663–672
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Treatment preferences of patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer: A discrete choice experiment

    Mannion, L., Watson, V., Mullassery, V., Nair, R., Charlton, T., Northover, M., Enting, D., Van Hemelrijck, M., Khan, M. S., Thurairaja, R., Amery, S., Chatterton, K., Smith, K., Hughes, S.
    BJUI Compass, vol. 5, no. 11, pp. 1059-1068
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Do the Scottish population value NHS outdoor spaces?

    Loria Rebolledo, L., Boyers, D., Antunes, M., Watson, V., Chalmers, N.
    Rural & Environment Science and Analytical Services Science, Evidence and Policy Conference 2024
    Contributions to Conferences: Posters
  • Cost-effectiveness of monitoring ocular hypertension based on a risk prediction tool

    Wu, H., Gazzard, G., King, A., Morgan, J., Wright, D., Crabb, D. P., Takwoingi, Y., Azuara-Blanco, A., Watson, V., Hernández, R.
    BMJ open ophthalmology, vol. 9, no. 1, e001741
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Stability of Willingness to Pay: does time and treatment allocation in a Randomised Controlled Trial influence willingness to pay?

    van der Pol, M., Watson, V., Boyers, D.
    Medical Decision Making, vol. 44, no. 5, pp. 470-480
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Public Preferences and Willingness to Pay for a Net Zero NHS: a protocol for a discrete choice experiment in England and Scotland

    Loria Rebolledo, L., Abbott, M., Antunes, M., Norwood, P., Ryan, M., Watson, V., Wu, H.
    BMJ Open, vol. 14, no. 6, e082863
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • ‘Moving to the countryside and staying’?: Exploring doctors migration choices to remote and rural areas

    Maclaren, A., Locock, L., Skea, Z., Cleland, J., Denison, A., Hollick, R., Murchie, P., Skatun, D., Watson, V., Wilson, P.
    Journal of Rural Studies, vol. 108, 103210
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Teleworking and housing demand

    Schulz, R., Watson, V., Wersing, M.
    Regional Science and Urban Economics, vol. 101, 103915
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Research Project Briefing: Enhancing recruitment and retention of doctors in rural Scotland

    Locock, L., Maclaren, A., Skea, Z. C., Murchie, P., Hollick, R., Wilson, P., Watson, V., Skatun, D., Cleland, J., Denison, A., Evans, J.
    Chief Scientist Office (Document).
    Other Contributions: Other Contributions
  • The perception of women in rural and remote Scotland about intrapartum care: A qualitative study

    Watson, V., Bryers, H., Erdem, S., Krucien, N., Burnside, M., Van Woerden, H.
    The Patient - Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, vol. 16, pp. 117-125
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Public contributors' preferences for the organisation of remote public involvement meetings in health and social care: a discrete choice experiment study

    Loria Rebolledo, L., Hassan, S., Goodall, M., Watson, V., Gabbay, M., Tahir, N., Frith, L.
    Health Expectations, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 146-159
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Teleworking and Housing Demand

    Schulz, R., Watson, V., Wersing, M.
    Working Papers: Preprint Papers
  • Prescribing antibiotics: factors driving decision-making in general practice. A discrete choice experiment

    Sydenham, R. V., Stenz, U., Watson, V., Pedersen, L. B., Plejdrup Hansen, M., Jarbøl, D. E.
    Social Science and Medicine, vol. 305, 115033
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Public acceptability of non-pharmaceutical interventions to control a pandemic in the United Kingdom: a discrete choice experiment

    Loria Rebolledo, L. E., Ryan, M., Watson, V., Genie, M., Sakowsky, R. A., Powell, D., Paranjothy, S.
    BMJ Open, vol. 12, no. 3, e054155
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • A Systematic Review of Patients’ Values, Preferences, and Expectations for the Treatment of Metastatic Prostate Cancer

    Connor, M. J., Genie, M., Burns, D., Bass, E. J., Gonzalez, M. A., Sarwar, N., Falconer, A., Mangar, S., Dudderidge, T., Khoo, V., Winkler, M., Ahmed, H. U., Watson, V.
    European Urology Open Science, vol. 36, pp. 9-18
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Regional Differences in COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in December 2020: A Natural Experiment in the French Working-Age Population

    Velardo, F., Watson, V., Arwidson, P., Alla, F., Luchini, S., Schwarzinger, M., Group, C. S.
    Vaccines, vol. 9, no. 11, 1364
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Metastatic prostate cancer men’s attitudes towards treatment of the local tumour and metastasis evaluative research (IP5-MATTER): protocol for a prospective, multicentre discrete choice experiment study

    Connor, M. J., Genie, M. G., Gonzalez, M., Sarwar, N., Thippu Jayaprakash, K., Horan, G., Hosking-Jervis, F., Klimowska-Nassar, N., Sukumar, J., Pokrovska, T., Basak, D., Robinson, A., Beresford, M., Rai, B., Mangar, S., Khoo, V., Dudderidge, T., Falconer, A., Winkler, M., Watson, V., Ahmed, H. U.
    BMJ Open, vol. 11, e048996
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Is relational continuity of care as important to people as policy makers think?: Preferences for continuity of care in primary care

    Norwood, P., Correia, I., Heidenreich, S., Veiga, P., Watson, V.
    Family Practice, vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 569-575
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • The Value of Preventative Dental Care: A Discrete-Choice Experiment

    Boyers, D., van der Pol, M., Watson, V., Lamont, T., Goulao, B., Ramsay, C., Duncan, A., Macpherson, L., Clarkson, J.
    Journal of Dental Research, vol. 100, no. 7, pp. 723-730
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Metastatic prostate cancer patients’ Attitudes towards Treatment of the local Tumour and metastasis Evaluative Research (IP5-MATTER): A multicentre, discrete choice experiment trial-in-progress

    M.J, C., Genie, M., M, G., F, H., K, T. J., N, S., G, H., N, K., J, S., Pokrovska, T., Basak, D., Rai, B., Robinson, A., Beresford, M., Mangar, S., Falconer, A., Dudderidge, T., Khoo, V., Winkler, M., Watson, V., H.U, A.
    EAU21 Virtual Congress, pp. S1217-S1218
    Contributions to Conferences: Abstracts
  • The burden of dengue in children by calculating spatial temperature: A methodological approach using remote sensing techniques

    Mendoza-Cano, O., Rincón-Avalos, P., Watson, V., Khouakhi, A., la Cruz, J. L. d., Ruiz-Montero, A. P., Nava-Garibaldi, C. M., Lopez-Rojas, M., Murillo-Zamora, E.
    International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 18, no. 8, 4230
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in a representative working-age population in France: a survey experiment based on vaccine characteristics

    Schwarzinger, M., Watson, V., Arwidson, P., Alla, F., Luchini, S.
    The Lancet Public Health, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. e210-e221
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Radical Treatment Without Cure: Decision-making in Oligometastatic Prostate Cancer

    Connor, M. J., Khoo, V., Watson, V., Hashim, A.
    European Urology, vol. 79, no. 4, pp. 558-560
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Understanding public preferences and trade-offs for government responses during a pandemic: a protocol for a discrete choice experiment in the UK

    Genie, M. G., Loria Rebolledo, L., Paranjothy, S., Powell, D., Ryan, M., Sakowsky, R. A., Watson, V.
    BMJ Open, vol. 10, no. 11, e043477
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Evaluating the Trade-offs Men with Localized Prostate Cancer Make between the Risks and Benefits of Treatments: the COMPARE study

    Watson, V., McCartan, N., Krucien, N., Abu, V., Ikenwilo, D., Emberton, M., Ahmed, H. U.
    Journal of Urology, vol. 204, no. 2, pp. 273-280
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • How are debriefing questions used in health discrete choice experiments? An online survey

    Pearce, A. M., Mulhern, B. J., Watson, V., Viney, R.
    Value in Health, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 289-293
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Case study: A realistic contaminated site remediation and different scenarios of intervention

    Guerriero, C., Papirio, S., Pirozzi, F., Ranzi, A., Rebolledo, L. E., Watson, V.
    Cost-Benefit Analysis of Environmental Health Interventions. Elsevier, pp. 229-256, 28 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters
  • Monetary analysis of health outcomes

    Watson, V., Luchini, S., Regier, D., Schulz, R.
    Cost-Benefit Analysis of Environmental Health Interventions. Guerriero, C. (ed.). Elsevier, pp. 73-93, 21 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters
  • Mode and Frame Matter: assessing the impact of survey mode and sample frame in choice experiments

    Watson, V., Porteous, T., Bolt, T., Ryan, M.
    Medical Decision Making, vol. 39, no. 7, pp. 827-841
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Investigating users' preferences for Low Emission Buses: Experiences from Europe's largest hydrogen bus fleet

    Loria Rebolledo, L. E., Watson, V., Kiso, T., Phimister, E. C.
    Journal of Choice Modelling, vol. 32, 100169
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Choice certainty and deliberative thinking in discrete choice experiments: A theoretical and empirical investigation

    Regier, D. A., Sicsic, J., Watson, V.
    Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, vol. 164, pp. 235-255
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Testing the Expert Based Weights Used in the UK’s Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) Against Three Preference-Based Methods

    Watson, V., Dibben, C., Cox, M., Atherton, I., Sutton, M., Ryan, M.
    Social Indicators Research, vol. 144, no. 3, pp. 1055-1074
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Patients' experiences and preferences for primary care delivery: a focus group analysis

    Norwood, P., Correia, I., Veiga, P., Watson, V.
    Primary health care research & development, vol. 20, e106
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Value-elicitation and value-formation properties of discrete choice experiment and experimental auctions

    Cerroni, S., Watson, V., Kalentakis, D., Macdiarmid, J. I.
    European Review of Agricultural Economics, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 3-27
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Eye Care Service in Scotland: Did the Scots Get it Right?: Project Report

    Dickey, H. S., Norwood, P. F., Watson, V., Zangelidis, A.
    Other Contributions: Other Contributions
  • Comment on: Patients' preferences for anti-osteoporosis drug treatment: a cross-European discrete choice experiment: reply

    Hiligsmann, M., Dellaert, B. G., Watson, V., Boonen, A.
    Rheumatology, vol. 57, no. 3, pp. 584-585
    Contributions to Journals: Comments and Debates
  • The Best of Both Worlds: An Example Mixed Methods Approach to Understand Men’s Preferences for the Treatment of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms

    Ikenwilo, D., Heidenreich, S., Ryan, M., Mankowski, C., Nazir, J., Watson, V.
    The Patient - Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 55-67
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Decision heuristic or preference? Attribute non-attendance in discrete choice problems

    Heidenreich, S., Watson, V., Ryan, M., Phimister, E.
    Health Economics, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 157-171
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • More Than Meets The Eye: Has the Eye Care Policy in Scotland Had Wider Health Benefits?

    Dickey, H. S., Norwood, P. F., Watson, V., Zangelidis, A.
    Working Papers: Discussion Papers
  • What do UK medical students value most in their careers?: A discrete choice experiment

    Cleland, J. A., Johnston, P., Watson, V., Krucien, N., Skatun, D.
    Medical Education, vol. 51, no. 8, pp. 839-851
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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