How to Use Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQs)

Ordering your FFQs

Complete the Study Account Information Sheet and fax it to Nutrition Assessment Shared Resource (NASR) at (206) 667-7864.

You will receive a unique 3-letter project code specific to the processing of your study. If you have multiple studies, each one should have its own 3-letter code. If you begin a new study, it too will need its own unique code. Please fax us a separate account information form for each new study.

Use your code to request FFQ booklets and in ALL correspondence with NASR (see sample FFQs). The FFQs will be shipped to you within three working days.

Using the FFQ

Establish a Quality Assurance (QA) person for your study. Perform QA review before returning FFQs for scanning. See QA guidelines. Additional information on the FFQs is found in the technical documentation.

Include FFQ Cover Sheet with each batch of FFQs to be scanned. Use regular mail or FedEx/UPS addresses (please see addresses on main page). NASR can scan up to 150 FFQs at a time but smaller batches of 50 or less are best for the first five to ten batches.

Reviewing Data Files and Error Reports from Processed FFQs

FFQs are returned to you with a packing sheet including project Batch ID and run number. You may download your raw nutrient data in SAS, Excel and text data formats after logging in at https://www.fhcrc-nasr.org/ffq/user_login.aspx. (If you have not received your username and password, call NASR at 800-460-7270 or email ffq@fhcrc.org.) You may convert the test data to the statistical package of your choice.

FFQs are optically scanned at FHCRC. Each batch of scanned FFQs yields files containing food consumption data, nutrient intake data, and an error report that specifies questionnaire completion errors (e.g. incomplete erasures, missed questions). These error reports are an important part of quality assurance and it is strongly recommended that investigators carefully review error reports that accompany each returned batch of scanned questionnaires.

Citing NASR and NDS-R in Publications

Please cite both the Nutrition Assessment Shared Resource and NDS-R in publications which use this technology. See information on how to cite NASR.

For more information about the development of the FFQs see the list of references that describe FFQ development.

	Using FFQs
	Technical Documentation