BEHAVIORAL MEASUREMENT CORE

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY (See Instructions): The Behavioral Measurement Core provides support to members of the Case CCC for study design and protocol development for studies involving behavioral measures, selection of existing measures or new instrument design, data analysis, manuscript preparation and review, and grant application development and review. Case CCC members from the Prevention Program primarily utilize the Core services. The Core supports clinical, prevention and other cancer research by assisting investigators in behavioral research methods including identifying or adapting existing measures of behavioral constructs, or when needed, developing new measures to fit investigator research questions and hypotheses. Parallel to designing a study with sufficient sample size and power to test associations, careful selection of the most reliable and valid measures can impact the ability to adequately evaluate the study hypotheses. Qualitative methods are often used in the early stages of measurement to guide understanding and define complex phenomena prior to developing a new measure. The Core is an important asset to investigators of the Cancer Center who conduct behavioral and population based research. It has enabled the development of the Center's research themes in prevention, population and control research. It has also opened up options for greater inclusion of patient report measures, such as quality of life, in treatment and prevention clinical trials. The Core's support of mixed methods, multilevel study designs and modern measurement theory creates a strategic advantage for investigators and is responsive to new developments and methods expectations in recent NCI initiatives. The Core creates an infrastructure for increasing transdisciplinary collaboration within and across Cancer Center programs. The incorporation of behavioral measures into ROI applications and the inclusion of psychometric and statistical analysis of ongoing funded studies also are indicative of the value added to the Cancer Center.