Researchers who study injury and violence have created a new database and library aimed at helping fellow scientists in the field enjoy easier access to each other’s work.
"The Society for the Advancement of Violence and Injury Research (SAVIR) Instrument Library is a repository for data collection instruments and survey forms,” said Prof. Carol Runyan, PhD, MPH, director of the Colorado School of Public Health’s Pediatric Injury Prevention, Education and Research (PIPER) Program. “The ultimate goal of the project is to enhance the quality of research and evaluation in the field, while also increasing efficiency.”
Runyan led the project, working closely with SAVIR and the non-profit SafetyLit® Foundation.
“Currently it’s common for researchers and evaluators to develop their own data collection forms and survey instruments without the benefit of access to what has been used for other projects elsewhere,” said David Lawrence, PhD, director of SafetyLit®. “Not only is this 'reinvention of the wheel' inefficient, it impedes progress as there has been no way to benefit from the lessons learned by other developers of instruments."
The SAVIR Instrument Library on SafetyLit provides information about the development and background of the instruments, how they were used to support research published in peer-reviewed articles and reports, comments on their use, problems encountered and often the instrument itself. Citations and links to the published articles based on the instrument are also included.
Initial funding for this project came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
Samples of what is in the SAVIR Instrument Library may be seen at: (http://www.safetylit.org/instruments.htm).
About the Colorado School of Public Health
The Colorado School of Public Health is the first and only accredited school of public health in the Rocky Mountain Region, attracting top tier faculty and students from across the country, and providing a vital contribution towards ensuring our region’s health and well-being. Collaboratively formed by the University of Colorado Denver, Colorado State University, and the University of Northern Colorado, the Colorado School of Public Health provides training, innovative research and community service to actively address public health issues, including chronic disease, access to health care, environmental threats, emerging infectious diseases, and costly injuries.
Contact: David.Kelly@ucdenver.edu