Limitations of Questionnaires and Web Experiments

Web-based surveys and questionnaires are an essential method of epidemiology which provides vital information on the condition of public health and disease. They are a typical method to collect data that is usually less expensive and time-consuming than face-to-face interviews, mailed questionnaires or automated telephone menu systems. Questionnaires and Web experiments aren’t without limitations, and these should be addressed to get reliable and valid results.

A questionnaire can 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 influence responses in different ways. For instance, question wording may influence whether respondents understand and interpret the question in the same way (reliable) and also, determine what you’re looking for (valid), or are able to answer accurately (credible).

A lack of engagement with the questionnaire can cause respondents to be less likely to give honest responses. Lack of incentive or compensation might make it difficult for respondents to fill out survey forms.

Online questionnaires can also pose difficult for certain research designs like studies of response time or positioning. The varying settings of browsers size, screen sizes, and operating systems makes it difficult to measure and control the same variables for different people.

Finaly, Web-based surveys can only be accessed by those who are keyboard and Internet knowledgeable. This excludes a substantial part of the population. In addition, it’s often difficult for Web researchers to provide feedback to participants after an experiment’s end.

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