Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31747446›Full record

ArticlePloS one2019

Paper-and-pencil versus computerized administration mode: Comparison of data quality and risk behavior prevalence estimates in the European school Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD).

Emanuela Colasante, Elisa Benedetti, Loredana Fortunato, Marco Scalese, Roberta Potente, Arianna Cutilli, Sabrina Molinaro

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Discrepancies Between Recommendations in Evidence-Based Guidelines for the Management of Obesity in Adolescents and Adults: An Evidence Map.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Emanuela ColasanteNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Clinical Physiology, Epidemiology and Health Research Lab, Pisa, Italy.
Elisa BenedettiNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Clinical Physiology, Epidemiology and Health Research Lab, Pisa, Italy.
Loredana FortunatoNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Clinical Physiology, Epidemiology and Health Research Lab, Pisa, Italy.
Marco ScaleseNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Clinical Physiology, Epidemiology and Health Research Lab, Pisa, Italy.
Roberta PotenteNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Clinical Physiology, Epidemiology and Health Research Lab, Pisa, Italy.
Arianna CutilliNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Clinical Physiology, Epidemiology and Health Research Lab, Pisa, Italy.
Sabrina MolinaroNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Clinical Physiology, Epidemiology and Health Research Lab, Pisa, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-7221-0873

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe aim of this experimental study was to investigate whether paper-and-pencil and computerized surveys administered in the school setting yield equivalent data quality indicators and risk behavior prevalence estimates.

methodsData were drawn from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD®) carried out in Italy to monitor drug, alcohol, tobacco use and other risk-behaviors among Italian high school students aged 15-19 years. A sub-sample of schools was recruited for the study (1673 pupils). For each school, two entire randomly selected courses (from the first to the fifth grade) participated and were assigned randomly to the self-administered paper-and-pencil (N = 811) or computerized survey (N = 862). Differences in data quality were assessed using the following indicators: questionnaire completeness (missing gender and/or 50% of missing answers) and internal consistency (repetitive extreme response patterns). Separate logistic regression models were used to estimate the mode effect on the reporting of each risk behavior, controlling for gender and age. Finally, the prevalence estimates of the experimental study were compared to the results of the national ESPAD® study.

resultsThe computerized administration mode produced a higher proportion of invalid questionnaires, but the prevalence estimates generated from responses to the paper-and-pencil and computerized surveys were generally equivalent. Nevertheless, comparing these results with those of the national ESPAD® study, some differences in the prevalence rates were found.

conclusionsThe findings suggest that in a proctored school setting, the computerized survey mode yields almost the same results as the paper-and-pencil mode. However, because of the reliance on existing informatics facilities until when all schools in the country will be sufficiently equipped for the computerized data collection, they should be given the opportunity to choose between paper-and-pencil and computerized survey modes, in order to avoid a possible selection bias.

Indexed as

AdolescentAlcohol DrinkingData AccuracyEuropean UnionFemaleHumansMaleMedical Records Systems, ComputerizedPopulation SurveillancePrevalenceSchoolsStudentsSubstance-Related DisordersYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID31747446
PMCPMC6867655

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.