Data Collecting Methods: Getting Down To Basics

This resource corresponds to Module 2.

Much research has been done on the abuse of alcohol and drugs, its causes, and its prevention. This research can be critical in framing your prevention efforts. Like any existing data, you need to consider whether research comes from a reliable source and whether the research was done using subjects comparable to those in your community. Sources of, and guides to, research on substance abuse include the following:

PREVLINE (Prevention Online)
www.ncadi.samhsa.gov

Operated by the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, this site contains a wealth of information on substance abuse and substance prevention. The material is searchable by drug, audience, and issue. PREVLINE also offers access to other searchable databases, including State Needs Assessment Profiles, which includes information on existing substance abuse data sets for each state.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
www.niaaa.nih.gov

This site contains a number of resources on alcohol abuse, including the ETOH Database, a searchable database of more than 100,000 records on alcohol abuse and alcoholism.

National Institute on Drug Abuse
www.nida.nih.gov/

This site contains material and resources on drug and alcohol abuse, including reports of the Monitoring the Future survey, a national study of the attitudes and behaviors of middle and high school students toward drugs. The 2001 study surveyed more than 44,000 students in 424 schools across the nation about their lifetime use, past year use, past month use, daily use of drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco.

Project CORK
www.projectcork.org/index.html

This online resource contains bibliographies, publications, and a searchable database of 51,000 items on substance abuse, most of which are drawn from the professional literature, as well as an annotated list of related Web sites.

ERIC
http://www.eric.ed.gov

Funded and maintained by the United States Department of Education, this database contains more than one million abstracts of research reports, journal articles, and other publications on education research and practice, including fairly broad and deep coverage of the literature on substance abuse and prevention among school-aged children.