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. 2014 Mar;23(1):120-9.
doi: 10.1002/mpr.1415. Epub 2014 Jan 16.

Strategies to address participant misrepresentation for eligibility in Web-based research

Jessica Kramer  1 , Amy Rubin, Wendy Coster, Eric Helmuth, John Hermos, David Rosenbloom, Rich Moed, Meghan Dooley, Ying-Chia Kao, Kendra Liljenquist, Deborah Brief, Justin Enggasser, Terence Keane, Monica Roy, Mark Lachowicz
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Strategies to address participant misrepresentation for eligibility in Web-based research

Jessica Kramer et al. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2014 Mar.

Abstract

Emerging methodological research suggests that the World Wide Web ("Web") is an appropriate venue for survey data collection, and a promising area for delivering behavioral intervention. However, the use of the Web for research raises concerns regarding sample validity, particularly when the Web is used for recruitment and enrollment. The purpose of this paper is to describe the challenges experienced in two different Web-based studies in which participant misrepresentation threatened sample validity: a survey study and an online intervention study. The lessons learned from these experiences generated three types of strategies researchers can use to reduce the likelihood of participant misrepresentation for eligibility in Web-based research. Examples of procedural/design strategies, technical/software strategies and data analytic strategies are provided along with the methodological strengths and limitations of specific strategies. The discussion includes a series of considerations to guide researchers in the selection of strategies that may be most appropriate given the aims, resources and target population of their studies.

Keywords: Internet data collection; World Wide Web data collection; participant misrepresentation; recruitment and enrollment methods; sampling methods.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
VetChange web security steps flowchart.
Figure 2
Figure 2
PEDI‐CAT‐ASD flowchart for identifying participant misrepresentation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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