title: What is the price of perfection? The hidden costs of using detailed assessment instruments to measure alcohol consumption.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This article describes results from a study investigating the effects of using long assessment instruments on attrition rates in mailed-out surveys.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were randomly assigned to receive one of two versions of a mailed-out survey; one version incorporated a detailed assessment of drinking using the Timeline Follow back method (TLFB; n = 46) and the other employed a brief graduated frequency measure of alcohol consumption (n = 49).
  
  
  RESULTS
  29% fewer respondents who received the TLFB returned any of their survey materials as compared to those respondents who received just the graduated frequency measure (22% vs 51%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In some situations, e.g., mailed-out surveys, employing detailed survey instruments may not be justified as the increased respondent burden may result in increased attrition rates.
authors.affiliation: Addiction Research Foundation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ansara
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Wild
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toneatto
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koski-Jännes
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003625:Data Collection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans