Selecting Useful Outcome Measures

Outcome measures assess the effect of the intervention or treatment you are studying. Outcome measures can be defined as primary, secondary, or exploratory. By determining your outcome measures in advance, and categorizing their importance, you can appropriately design your study. Pre-specifying your outcomes and the instruments you plan to use can also help ensure that you do not have incomplete data collection. Concise tables for your readers are a useful method for organizing your outcome measures, instruments, and supporting literature.