Self-administered questionnaires

The survey method relies heavily on interviews to gather data and typically involves little or no on-site verification or observation. Results can be obtained in a timely and cost-effective mannen however they may reflect the bias of the individual filling out a self-administered questionnaire. 

Hybrid systems are those systems that employ various strategies to collect data. In such systems, data may be collected on paper forms as patient self-administered questionnaires, while additional data may be downloaded from centralized databases. 

YAMAMOTO S, SOBUE T, SASAKI S, KOBAYASHI M, ARAI Y, UEHARA M, ADLERCREUTZ H, WATANABE S, TAKAHASHi T, iiTOi Y, IWASE Y, AKABANE M and TSUGANE s (2001) Vahdity and reproducibihty of a self-administered food-frequency questionnaire to assess isoflavone intake in a Japanese population in comparison with dietary records and blood and urine isoflavones. JNutr. 131 (10) 2741-7. 

Partti-Pellinen et al. (1996) used a cross-sectional, self-administered questionnaire to assess the eye, respiratory tract, and central nervous system symptoms experienced by adults in a slightly polluted and a reference community. In the polluted community the mean annual TRS concentrations were 2-3 g/m3, the 24-hour average concentrations varied between 0-56 g/m3, and the maximum 1-hour concentration was 155 g/m3 there was no TRS detected in the reference community. In the polluted community, the sulfur dioxide annual mean concentration was 1 g/m3, the 24-hour average concentrations varied... 

The second study used a similar design but it focused on nurses employed in hospitals that ranked high in the use of antineoplastic drugs (8). Information on the exposure was obtained by self-administered, mailed questionnaires. The odds ratio for hospitalized spontaneous abortions in relation to exposure to antineoplastic drugs was 2.3 (p - 0.01). 

Standardized questionnaires are used to capture HRQL data in a variety of settings. These standardized questionnaires may be self-administered or completed via telephone or personal interview, by observation, or by postal survey. Two basic approaches to HRQL measurement are available generic instruments that provide a summary of health-related quality of fife and specific instruments that focus on problems associated with individual disease states, patient groups, or areas of function. 

Flokstra-De Blok, B. M. J., DunnGalvin, A., Dubois, A. E. J., and Hourihane, J. O. B. (2008). The development and validation of the self-administered food allergy quality of life questionnaire for teens. JACI14,121-125. 

Example 2. The Cancer Prevention Cohort Study (CPS II) mortality cohort consists of 1.2 million adults residing in 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Individuals in this cohort completed self-administered questionnaires in 1982 with information on race, diet, exercise, medical history, and other lifestyle factors. Findings on the relationship between colorectal cancer and meat consumption on a subset... 

Standardized data collection — in-person interview — Telephone interview — Self-administered questionnaire — Existing records... 

Use of a standardized methodology for data collection is critical for collecting information for all study subjects, regardless of exposure or disease status. Information must be collected on exposure, outcome, and effect modifiers or confounders. There are several methods available for ascertaining information on exposures and outcomes, such as self-reported data obtained in personal or telephone interviews, self-administered questionnaires, diaries, observation, existing records, actual physical measurements, and collection of biological specimens (Armstrong et al. 1995). 

Eskenazi, B. and K. Pearson (1988). Validation of a self-administered questionnaire for assessing occupational and environmental exposures of pregnant women. Am. J. Epidem., 128, 1117-1129. 

In three non-obese individuals (two women and one man), it was suspected that heavy use of aspartame was causally related to symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome (20). All three reported moderate pain and tingling in the hands, especially at night, using a self-administered questionnaire for the assessment of severity of symptoms and functional status (21). Given the ubiquity of aspartame— one manufacturer has stated that it is used in 5000 products—physicians may want to inquire about its use in patients who report symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. 

Levine DW, Simmons BP, Koris MJ, Daltroy LH, Hohl GG, Fossel AH, Katz JN. A self-administered questionnaire for the assessment of severity of symptoms and functional status in carpal tunnel syndrome. J Bone Joint Surg Am 1993 75(ll) 1585-92. 

The study of HRQOL requires a multidimensional approach. Assessments must include components that evaluate, at a minimum, the health concepts of physical functioning, social and role functioning, mental health, and perception of general health. In addition, the full continuum of these concepts must be included, from the most limited to the healthiest. Approaches to capture HRQOL data include the self-administered questionnaire, personal interview, telephone interview, observation, and postal survey. The assessment instruments must possess acceptable reliability, validity, and sensitivity, and the investigators and the participants must accept them. Psychometrics... 

Kaplan RM, Sieber WJ, Ganiats TG. The quality of well-being scale Comparison of an interviewer-administered version with a self-administered questionnaire. Psychol Health 1997 12 783-791. 

Cook DJ, Guyatt GH, Juniper E, et al. Interviewer versus self-administered questionnaires in developing a disease-specific, health-related quality of life instrument for asthma J Qin Epidemiol 1993 46 529-534. 

Some rating scales are self-administered and do not require a staff member to interview a patient thus they require minimal resources to administer. However, there are many cases in which the patient is unable to complete a questionnaire for a variety of reasons, including literacy and severity of symptoms. 

Risk Factor Questionnaire. Each subject volunteer completed a series of questions designed to assess self-reported symptoms, and exposure to potentially confounding factors, such as alcohol and tobacco. Questions regarding hobbies and work-shift history were also addressed. Subjects also completed a series of standardized questions from a copyrighted questionnaire termed the SF-36. Both questionnaires were administered electronically after completion of the GASH/BARS. 

A small-scale exploratoty study described menstrual disorders in dry cleaning workers (Zielhuis et al. 1989). Limitations of the study are lack of exposure measurement data, methodologic problems (self-administered questionnaire with no follow-up and failure to account for various confounding factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and medicinal dmgs), and a relatively small study population. 

The analytical approach can be considered a research methodology, which can be employed in either a case study or a (corrrparative) srrrvey encorrtpassing several organisations. Its research technique is a standardised questionnaire that is typically self-administered. It can be administered either group-wise, for instance at the start of a compare training session, or serrt to the worker s home addresses. 

Three ways of approaching culture are available, the academic, the analytical and the pragmatic approach. The academic approach makes use of qualitative techniques and results in a thick description of a culture which is value-free. The analytical approach is based on self-administered questionnaires and makes comparisons between (sub-)cultures possible. Finally, the pragmatic approach uses developmental hierarchies to describe cultures. Organisations are supposed to aim for the highest steps on these hierarchies. 

Information bias Ascertainment of cases varied from dermatological examination to self-administered questionnaires... 

---