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Data in the MMWR: A purposive review with recommendations

4 Design choices and constraints: What data were used?

4.1 Describe data sources in anticipation of analysis and interpretation

Principle: Clearly describe data sources (whether commercial or noncommercial), sizes, and structures, including information about choices and constraints. Include information that will influence analysis and interpretation, such as selection criteria and biases, quality, completeness, missingness, inclusions, exclusions, and losses.

Observations: Reports consistently describe data in sufficient detail. Reports from web-based surveys include mm6924e1 (Czeisler, Tynan, et al. 2020), mm6932a1 (Czeisler, Lane, et al. 2020), and mm6949a2 (Gilbert et al. 2020). Reports from electronic health records include mm6802a1 (García et al. 2019), mm6911a5 (Schieber et al. 2020), mm7114e1 (Block et al. 2022), and mm7121e1 (Bull-Otterson et al. 2022).

Recommendations:

  1. Current practice is strong. MMWR or CDC could develop guidance for authors on how to relate characteristics of data to analysis and interpretation, especially for emerging and nontraditional data sources and types, such as web-based surveys and other convenience samples; administrative, claims, and electronic health records; fusion of multiple data sources; and wastewater and other ecological measures.
  2. Reports do not typically need to indicate data management technology, such as REDCap, dplyr (R package), or pandas (Python library), unless data management practice or technology substantively influences analysis, interpretation, or potential reproducibility.

References

Block JP, Boehmer TK, Forrest CB, Carton TW, Lee GM, Ajani UA, Christakis DA, Cowell LG, Draper C, Ghildayal N, et al. 2022-04. Cardiac complications after SARS-CoV-2 Infection and mRNA COVID-19 vaccination — PCORnet, United States, January 2021–January 2022. MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 71(14):517–523. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7114e1
Bull-Otterson L, Baca S, Saydah S, Boehmer TK, Adjei S, Gray S, Harris AM. 2022-05. Post–COVID conditions among adult COVID-19 survivors aged 18–64 and ≥65 years — United States, March 2020–November 2021. MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 71(21):713–717. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7121e1
Czeisler MÉ, Lane RI, Petrosky E, Wiley JF, Christensen A, Njai R, Weaver MD, Robbins R, Facer-Childs ER, Barger LK, et al. 2020-08. Mental health, substance use, and suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic — United States, June 24–30, 2020. MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 69(32):1049–1057. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6932a1
Czeisler MÉ, Tynan MA, Howard ME, Honeycutt S, Fulmer EB, Kidder DP, Robbins R, Barger LK, Facer-Childs ER, Baldwin G, et al. 2020-06. Public attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs related to COVID-19, stay-at-home orders, nonessential business closures, and public health guidance — United States, New York City, and Los Angeles, May 5–12, 2020. MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 69(24):751–758. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6924e1
García MC, Heilig CM, Lee SH, Faul M, Guy G, Iademarco MF, Hempstead K, Raymond D, Gray J. 2019-01. Opioid prescribing rates in nonmetropolitan and metropolitan counties among primary care providers using an electronic health record system — United States, 2014–2017. MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 68(2):25–30. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6802a1
Gilbert LK, Strine TW, Szucs LE, Crawford TN, Parks SE, Barradas DT, Njai R, Ko JY. 2020-12. Racial and ethnic differences in parental attitudes and concerns about school reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic — United States, July 2020. MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 69(49):1848–1852. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6949a2
Schieber LZ, Guy GP, Seth P, Losby JL. 2020-03. Variation in adult outpatient opioid prescription dispensing by age and sex — United States, 2008–2018. MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 69(11):298–302. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6911a5