Behavioral Measurement

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The Behavioral Measurement Shared Resource (BeMSR) is the newest addition to the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Massey Cancer Center (MCC) cores. Its establishment was initiated in 2008 by the recruitment of Dr Levent Dumenci as the Resource Director and Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Health at VCU. The BeMSR aims to support MCC investigators by identifying psychometrically sound measures, modifying or developing new measures when the existing measures do not meet the needs of research protocols, assisting in design and analysis of behavioral data, and supporting behavioral measurement aspects of grant process from conceptualization of behavioral constructs to scholarly publications and presentations. Resources and tools available to all MCC researchers include the newly developed web-based searchable database of psychometric instruments that assists in identifying appropriate instruments for use. Expert-guided instrument searches are also available to MCC investigators. The service request can be initiated from the web portal by filling out the appropriate form. The BeMSR is now implementing web-based algorithms to collect detailed data about service use including the database searches. Although the core services are available to all MCC researchers, the request for service primarily originates from the Cancer Prevention and Control (CPC) program researchers who are most likely to include psychometric instruments in their research protocols. Since its inception, the BeMSR has continually supported the development of external grant submissions including investigator-initiated applications, training grants, and career development awards. In the relatively short period of its existence, the most notable achievements include three NCI grants awarded to projects that rely on the services offered by the BeMSR.