The quest for better questionnaires

The development of questionnaires is a neglected enterprise in epidemiology. It has recently been proposed that a prestigious health authority such as the World Health Organization establish a committee to tackle issues of questionnaire quality, moving eventually toward standardized instruments. However, standardization may not be the best way to invigorate this enterprise. As an alternative, the author suggests that the first step in improving questionnaires would be to make them more accessible. Ideally, questionnaires should be as easily scrutinized as a study's methods or results. To this end, the author suggests that when a research paper is published, the entire questionnaire be made available on the worldwide web. Electronic access to questionnaires could stimulate a new era of awareness about the importance of questionnaire design.