Subjective Methods | Objective Methods | ||||||||||
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Dietary outcome | Estimated food diaries | Weighed food diaries | 24-hour dietary recall | Food frequency questionnaire | Dietary checklist | Dietary history | Direct observation | Duplicate diets | Nutritional biomarkers | ||
Energy and nutrient intake of total diet | ![]() |
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Maybe |
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Intake of specific nutrients or food | ![]() |
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Maybe |
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Infrequently consumed foods | Maybe |
Maybe |
Maybe |
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Dietary patterns | ![]() |
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Habitual diet | ![]() |
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Within person comparison | ![]() |
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Maybe |
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Between person comparison | ![]() |
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Meal composition | ![]() |
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Maybe |
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Frequency of eating/meal occasions | ![]() |
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Maybe |
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Eating environment | ![]() |
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Maybe |
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Adult report of diet at younger age | ![]() |
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Characteristic | |||||||||||
Single recall | Multiple recall | ||||||||||
Number of participants | Up to ~5000 |
Up to ~1000 |
Up to ~5000 |
Up to ~1000 |
Any |
Any |
Up to a few thousands |
Small |
Typically small |
Any |
|
Cost of development | Low |
Low |
Low |
Low |
Medium |
Low |
Low |
Low |
High |
High |
|
Cost of use | Medium |
Medium |
Medium |
High |
Low |
Low |
Medium |
High |
High |
High |
|
Participant burden | High |
Very high |
Low |
Very high |
Low |
Low |
Medium |
Low |
High |
Varies with sample type |
|
Researcher burden of data collection | Medium |
Medium |
High |
High |
Low |
Low |
Medium |
High |
Low |
High |
|
Researcher burden of coding and data analysis | High |
High |
Medium |
High |
Medium |
Low |
Medium |
High |
High |
High |
|
Risk of reactivity bias | Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
Risk of recall bias | Minimised if diary completed at time of consumption |
Minimised if diary completed at time of consumption |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Minimised if duplicate saved at time of consumption |
No |
|
Risk of social desirability bias | Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Minimised |
Yes |
No |
|
Risk of observer bias | No |
Minimised |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Minimised |
Minimised with blinding |
|
Participant literacy required | Yes |
Yes |
Maybe |
Maybe |
Maybe |
Depends on whether interviewing or not |
Yes |
No |
If diary also completed |
No |
|
Suitable for use in free living | Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Requires individual portion size estimation | Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Maybe |
Depends on design |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |