How to Select a Questionnaire with a Good Methodological Quality?

Abstract

In the last decades, several instruments have been used to evaluate the impact of oral health problems on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of individuals. However, some instruments lack thorough methodological validation or present conceptual differences that hinder comparisons with instruments. Thus, it can be difficult to clinicians and researchers to select a questionnaire that accurately reflect what are really meaningful to individuals. This short communication aimed to discuss the importance of use an appropriate checklist to select an instrument with a good methodological quality. The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist was developed to provide tools for evidence-based instrument selection. The COSMIN checklist comprises ten boxes that evaluate whether a study meets the standard for good methodological quality and two additional boxes to meet studies that use the Item Response Theory method and general requirements for results generalization, resulting in four steps to be followed. In this way, it is required at least some expertise in psychometrics or clinimetrics to a wide-ranging use of this checklist. The COSMIN applications include its use to ensure the standardization of cross-cultural adaptations and safer comparisons between measurement studies and evaluation of methodological quality of systematic reviews of measurement properties. Also, it can be used by students when training about measurement properties and by editors and reviewers when revising manuscripts on this topic. The popularization of COSMIN checklist is therefore necessary to improve the selection and evaluation of health measurement instruments.

The impact of two root canal treatment protocols on the oral health‐related quality of life: a randomized controlled pragmatic clinical trial

“…MID is the smallest difference that is beneficial to the patient (Jaeschke et al 1989) and determines the meaningful clinical effects of different endodontic treatment approaches (Neelakantan et al 2020). Moreover, validated instruments combined with improved methodological procedures and longer follow-up times are needed to assess the OHRQoL of individuals (Paiva et al 2018).…”

Psychometric Properties of Parent–Child (0–5 years) Interaction Outcome Measures as Used in Randomized Controlled Trials of Parent Programs: A Systematic Review

“…The COSMIN was developed via a Delphi study in response to the need for a standardized method to assess measurement studies and consistent application of psychometric definitions. The COSMIN was selected for the purposes of the current review over other checklists due to its advantages of facilitating comparisons between different measurement studies (Paiva et al 2018). The COSMIN is applicable for both Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) studies which are assessed according to 10-psychometric domains of interest, each with varying number of items: (1) internal consistency (11 items), (2) reliability (14 items), (3) measurement error (11 items), (4) content validity (5 items), (5) structural validity (7 items), (6) hypothesis testing (10 items), (7) cross-cultural validity (15 items), (8) criterion validity (7 items), (9) responsiveness (18 items), and (10) interpretability1 (7 items).…”

Assessment of oral health‐related quality of life in adolescents, young adults, and adults with dental agenesis: A comparative study

“…To reduce the possibility of response bias, participants were assured that their decision regarding participation in the study would not influence their treatment and that the interviewer had no role in their treatment but acted merely as a “gatekeeper” to collect data. The training was performed using the consensus‐based standards for the selection of health measurement instruments (COSMIN) checklist and PowerPoint program in a total of 24 h. The interviewers’ agreement was satisfactory (kappa = 0.90).…”

“…21 Instrument selection was based on the COSMIN checklist, which was developed in an international Delphi study to provide tools for evidence-based instrument selection. 18,19…”