UNDERSTANDING THE 3 NATIONAL DATABASES ON COLLEGIATE ALCOHOL AND DRUG-USE

An overview of the three major databases used to examine alcohol and o ther drug use habits of American college students is provided. The dat abases are compared in terms of purpose, study population, subject sel ection, method of administration, focus, utility for institutional use , and trend analyses. The authors conclude that no one source of data is ''best.'' Rather, the studies represent three different sources of data. Although information from these databases overlaps to some exten t, each database makes a unique contribution to the field.