Various methodological issues influence the measurement of alcohol consumption in contemplates One factor is the intimation period for which questions are asked--that is.

Various methodological issues influence the measurement of alcohol consumption in contemplates One factor is the intimation period for which questions are asked--that is, whether respondent are asked for an exact recall of their intake during a short, new period or for a summary of their drinking behavior throughout a longer period, such as the past year. Longer recall periods provide sufficient time to link consumption data with concurrently heap uped data on the prevalence of alcohol-related results Another factor influencing survey springs is the approach used to measure alcohol consumption. couple commonly used measures are the usual quantity/frequency (QF) and graduated oftenness (GF) approaches, both of which allow researchers to estimate the body of alcohol intake. Other issues that researchers conducting scans should consider include the use of beverage-specific versus overall questions, open-end versus categorical replys and measurement of standard versus actual drink sizes. Finally, features of the overall scan design--such as the mode of interview (i.e., in one versus by telephone), the use of computerized examine instruments, and measures to make secure confidentiality--influence the reliability and validity of the data. lock opener WORDS: alcohol quantity-frequency methods; survey; interview; contemplation design; reliability (research methods); validity (research methods)

**********

common important goal of alcohol epidemiology is to link alcohol consumption with alcohol-related question s To this end, alcohol consumption first must be determined as accurately as possible. At the of the same height of a large population, aggregate-level analyses, like as those that compare variation in by capita alcohol consumption and mortality rates above time, are useful in demonstrating links between consumption and its sequelae. Consumption data for as it is aggregate analyses typically are based in succession information about alcohol sales or shipments. At least in the United States, these data give an account of the standard against which other estimates of alcohol consumption are compared.

In contrast, analyses that link drinking behavior with related issues at the individual level generally rely upon survey data. Surveys of consumption allow researchers to ask individuals about their drinking patterns and to obtain other potentially related information, as it is as socio-demographic characteristics, health status, and alcohol-related experiences. in the greatest degree important, this approach enables investigators to link alcohol consumption with various consequences at the level of the individual respondent as well as to adjust for other individual characteristics that might perplex the associations being studied. In addition, review data permit researchers to identify abstainers and to separately examine the impact of drinking frequent occurrence and drinking quantity. Finally, view data allow for tracking of specific patterns of risk drinking, generally defined as drinking at a on a level that might result in psychomotor impairment.

Because of the importance of review data for estimating relationships between drinking and alcohol-related outcomes--and thus for the formulation of low-risk drinking guidelines--the general approaches and specific questions used to assess alcohol consumption have received often attention (Alanko 1984; Armor and Polich 1982; Midanik and Harford 1994; Rehm 1998; swing 1990). Despite diverse national traditions regarding the measurement of alcohol consumption, researchers have made progres toward achieving consensus onward key issues guiding the selection of an optimal approach (Dawson and apartment 2000), at least for Western, bring outed societies. This article discusses about of the issues that warrant consideration in the design and management of surveys. These issues include the choice of allusion period, the types of questions asked to measure quantity and commonness of consumption, the use of beverage-specific versus overall consumption questions, open-end versus precod answers and definitions of drinking status. This article also describes by what means the data obtained in the measure and estimates can be used to estimate alcohol consumption. Finally, the influence of various interview manners including the use of computerized contemplates is explored as well as other measurement considerations, like as the confidentiality, representativeness, reliability, and validity of the data.

respect PERIOD

One critical issue in contemplate design concerns the reference period for which consumption data are scrape togethered This period may range from the past year to the past month past week, or chiefly recent drinking occasion. The choice of respect period directly affects the way in which consumption can be assessed. With short allusion periods (i.e., 1 week or less) researchers can ask respondent to describe the exact number, size, and stamp of drinks they consumed in succession each day. This approach, referr to as exact recall, is reflection to minimize problems with memory los and avoids the point to be solved [i]or[/i] settleds inherent in trying to describe a respondent's "usual" pattern of intake.