The three primary purposes of the Health Instrument File -- database production, client services, and research development -- all relate to measurement instruments (i.e., questionnaires, interview schedules, observation checklists and/or manuals, index measures, coding schemes, scenarios/vignettes, rating scales, projective techniques, tests), of importance to research, practice, and education in nursing primarily and secondarily in other health and health-related behavioral sciences.
Specific aims of the project are to: (a) identify, obtain pertinent information on, describe, classify, and store instruments used by researchers, practitioners, educators, administrators, and evaluators; (b) prepare this information on instruments for entry into the HIF database for national online access through an appropriate vendor; (c) plan and develop a system of client services for mediated database searching, instrument acquisition, consultation/evaluation, and usage; (d) create a HIF-based Instrument Database Laboratory (IDL) for researchers, practitioners, and educators to conduct research studies with HIF's instruments as variables in nursing most specifically, but also in other health sciences, health-related behavioral sciences, and library and information science; (e) prepare and distribute a semi-annual newsletter to librarians, HIF end-users, and others interested in HIF; (f) develop a marketing plan for promoting HIF adoption and usage among appropriate constituencies. Methodology for meeting these aims will stress six activities. The first four are ongoing from the present grant period, the last two require planning and development: (a) Bibliographic Activity (e.g., journal identification, key term assignment), (b) Information Processing (e.g., journal review, letter compilation), (c) Computer Operations (e.g., database design, screen entry), (d) Information Dissemination (e.g., presentations/publications), (e) Client Services (e.g., document delivery, usage consultation), (f) Research Development (e.g., studies based on constructs underlying instruments that derive from HIF operations). Clearly, the Health Instrument File is a unique comprehensive repository of health and health-related behavioral instruments. It is also a rich resource of information for generating research questions not only in the health and health-related behavioral sciences but also in library and information science.
