NCJ Number
199748
Journal
Journal of Drug Education Volume: 32 Issue: 4 Dated: 2002 Pages: 287-301
Date Published
2002
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study assessed the inter-rater reliability of two environmental scanning tools (a newspaper content analysis form and a bulletin analysis form) designed to identify alcohol-related advertisements that targeted college students.
Abstract
In 1994 Ryan and Associates developed the College Alcohol Risk Assessment guide (CARA), which was intended to help campuses identify environmental risk factors associated with alcohol-related problems. The CARA provides several data collection forms to facilitate this process. Two important areas of analysis include the scanning of campus bulletin boards for party notices, posters, or flyers that advertise or promote alcohol-related activities, and advertisements for bars in the area, as well as content analyses of campus newspapers for messages that focus on alcohol consumption, alcohol-related activities, and alcohol advertising. The current study assessed the inter-rater reliability of modified versions of the bulletin board scanning form and newspaper content analysis form found in the CARA. Data were collected during the academic year 2000 from a college newspaper and campus bulletin boards. The data sets from each type of media were subjected to two statistical tests of inter-rater reliability: the Kappa statistics and Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. Findings show that inter-rater reliability varied across different rating categories and ranged from poor to excellent; however, if environmental data such as those collected in this study are used to identify specific bars that advertise high-risk promotions, the tools assessed in this study might have sufficient specificity and reliability to be useful. These tools have been used in applied prevention settings to identify high-risk price promotions and establishments. Suggestions are offered for future studies. 6 tables and 26 references