Question regarding corporal punishment studies

I'm the mother of one six-year old daughter who has always been very well behaved and obedient, with one major exception: lying. It started almost a year ago, and seems to have only become worse. It began with tall-tales, which regrettably, my husband and I used to indulge. (We thought they were cute and imaginative, and we didn't think they would lead to anything worse.) She lies to get out of trouble, she lies to us about her teacher and classmate, and to them about us. Some of her lies are obvious, while others are completely believable. They have lead to some terribly embarrassing situations, and I'm confident that there are others which we have not discovered.We tried explaining again and again why she shouldn't lie. We've tried time-outs, taking things away, etc. My sister-in-law suggested we try spanking, and to make it clear that lying earns a spanking, while owning up to something might lead to a punishment, but never a spanking. If she lies and refuses to come clean, I should explain to her why she is going to be spanked, and put her over my lap and give her few swats on butt.I've swatted her hand or bottom a few times when she was a toddler, but since she's been old enough to talk to we've never so much as threatened to spank her. She knows what it means, however, as most of her friends get spanked.I was never really spanked in the traditional sense, but my mother had a quick temper and I would get slapped and pinched a lot (always in the heat of the moment – it was never something I was told was going to happen). My husband was very pro-spanking until we had a girl, and has since backed down on the issue. My main reason for being against it has been the research on the subject.My sister-in-law (mother of 3) is an actuary and questions the validity of a lot of these studies. She claims that respondents who say they were spanked include people that whipped violently with belts, hit often and for silly reason, were spanked past an age where spanking should still be used, etc.She challenged me to find one that only included only children that were spanked on the rarest occasions, with warning and explanation, and always done without anger.What are your thoughts her suggestion?Also, I'd love any suggestions on dealing with lying, though I've already spent dozens of hours researching the subject. via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2eCQiBJ