Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Apparent change in caseness in longitudinal studies

R Selzer1, J B Carlin

  • 1Centre for Adolescent Health, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Psychological Medicine
|January 1, 1997
PubMed
Summary

Questionnaire surveys alone have limited power to track changes in low-prevalence conditions over time. Second-stage data collection is crucial for verifying results and ensuring accurate assessment of condition changes.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Black Hole Spectroscopy and Tests of General Relativity with GW250114.

Physical review letters·2026
Same author

GW250114: Testing Hawking's Area Law and the Kerr Nature of Black Holes.

Physical review letters·2025
Same author

Search for Subsolar-Mass Binaries in the First Half of Advanced LIGO's and Advanced Virgo's Third Observing Run.

Physical review letters·2022
Same author

Constraints on Cosmic Strings Using Data from the Third Advanced LIGO-Virgo Observing Run.

Physical review letters·2021
Same author

Adolescent mental health and behavioural predictors of being NEET: a prospective study of young adults not in employment, education, or training.

Psychological medicine·2017
Same author

A novel approach to monitoring adherence to preventive therapy for tuberculosis in adolescence.

Journal of paediatrics and child health·2017

Area of Science:

  • Epidemiology
  • Biostatistics

Background:

  • Longitudinal studies are essential for tracking disease progression and intervention effectiveness.
  • Accurate measurement of health conditions, especially rare ones, presents significant methodological challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy of questionnaire-based surveys in assessing changes in the prevalence of a low-prevalence condition over time.
  • To determine the necessity of supplementary data collection methods for validating survey findings in longitudinal research.

Main Methods:

  • A longitudinal study design was employed.
  • Data were collected using a questionnaire instrument.
  • The study assumed imperfect validity of the survey instrument and considered a single stage of data collection initially.

Main Results:

  • A questionnaire-based survey alone demonstrates limited ability to accurately assess changes in caseness for low-prevalence conditions.
  • The validity of survey instruments is a critical factor in longitudinal data interpretation.
  • Positive responses require verification at a second stage of data collection to ensure reliability.

Conclusions:

  • For longitudinal studies on low-prevalence conditions, relying solely on questionnaire data is insufficient.
  • Implementing a second stage of data collection is vital for verifying initial survey responses and accurately measuring changes in condition prevalence.
  • Methodological rigor, including validation steps, is paramount in epidemiological research.

Related Experiment Videos