Questionnaires and web experiments are a vital epidemiologic technique which provides vital information about the state of public health and internet-based.org/internet-polls diseases. They are a common method of collecting data that are typically cheaper and less time-consuming than face-to-face interviews, mailed questionnaires, or automated phone menu systems. However questionnaires and Web experiments have significant limitations that should be addressed to ensure that they are reliable and valid results.
A questionnaire may be affected by response bias. This is the tendency of respondents to answer questions based on their personal opinions, rather than research objectives. Additionally, questionnaire design can affect responses in several ways. For example, question wording may influence whether respondents comprehend and interpret the question in the same way (reliable), measure the subject matter you’re interested in (valid), or are able to answer accurately (credible).
Respondents may also experience fatigue or a lack of engagement with the questions that are asked, which reduces the likelihood of them offering honest answers. Lack of incentives or compensation could hinder respondents from filling out an application.
Online questionnaires can also be challenging for certain experiment designs such as studies of reaction times or positioning. It is difficult to measure and control variables across participants because of the different settings for browsers operating systems, browser settings, and screen sizes.
Finally, Web-based surveys are only available to those who have keyboards and are Internet knowledgeable, which currently excludes a significant percentage of the population. Additionally, it is generally difficult to Web researchers to debrief participants when the window for an experiment has closed.