An official website of the United States government
Alternate Version Available
You are viewing the web site for DHQ II. The latest version for the U.S. is the DHQ III; however, DHQ III does not yet have a Canadian version. The Canadian version of DHQ II is still available.
The DHQ II that queries intake for the past year and includes portion size is the standard version of the NCI's Diet History Questionnaire for Canada for which there are related validation data. There, are, however, four different versions available for use, described below. Please note that the example forms provided SHOULD NOT be copied and completed by research subjects unless you intend to input the data by hand.
- DHQ II: Past year, with portion size (our standard FFQ format): asks about intake in the past year and includes questions about portion size.
- C-DHQ II (English and French): Past year, with portion size (our standard FFQ format): asks about intake in the past year and includes questions about portion size.
- The forms and codebook
are available on the C-DHQ II Web site.
- The forms and codebook
- DHQ II: Past year, without portion size: asks about usual intake in the past year and excludes questions about portion size. (This is not available for C-DHQ II.)
- DHQ II: Past month, with portion size: asks about intake in the past month and includes questions about portion size.
- C-DHQ II: Past month, with portion size: asks about intake in the past month and includes questions about portion size.
- The forms and codebook are available on the C-DHQ II Web site.
- The forms and codebook
- DHQ II: Past month, without portion size: asks about usual intake in the past month and excludes questions about portion size. (This is not available for C-DHQ II.)
The DHQ is available in a variety of file formats, each designed for a specific method of capturing the data from paper-based forms. Review the options below and determine the method that you will use to capture the data before downloading and printing copies for distribution. The DHQ and other required files are available on each method's page. The Web-based version of the DHQ II and DHQ II - Canada are also available as an option for capturing data.
DHQ data from paper-based forms are stored in an ASCII text file that can be analyzed using the Diet*Calc software. Please be aware that although Diet*Calc is available at no cost, there are costs associated with printing the forms and with scanning or entering the data. There are two methods for capturing survey data from paper forms: optical scanning and data entry. To date, scanning has proven to be the most effective data collection method for the paper-based DHQ. Information regarding all methods is posted below.
Scanning Paper Forms
Depending on the information technology resources at your organization, you may be able to print and scan DHQ forms, but more likely you may need to outsource the printing and/or scanning. If you use an outside contractor, the costs involved will vary depending on whether you use NCI's version of the DHQ without changes or if you make modifications specific to your study. For questions about scanning services for the NCI's version of the DHQ, please contact the technical support staff. You will receive a response within two business days.
Keypunching DHQ Data
It is possible to use a data entry system as an alternative to printing scannable forms and using scanners to capture the data. However, the steps involved in coding and keying the data may be costly and error-prone. If your organization has effective data entry capabilities then you may consider this as an alternative.
DHQ Forms for Use with Keyboard Entry
The files and forms used for Keyboard Entry are the same as those used for the paper-based version of DHQ II. Use the files for the paper-based version that most closely resembles the format of your questionnaire.
Users may be able to reduce costs by sharing information and resources with other users. If you would like to submit information regarding your experience with the DHQ, please contact the technical support staff.