Methodological challenges
The potential of the Internet to recruit quickly and at low cost a high number of participants in online surveys is widely emphasized. However, the generalization of the results requires adjustments and is not always possible, in part because all individuals are not connected to the Internet, that dropout rates are generally higher than in the course of investigations out line and because of the biases of participation are present although still poorly understood.
The researchers propose in this article a number of ways to pass the recruitment stage, including leveraging the potential of social media. They also examine the ethical issues posed by the development of online surveys, it relates to obtaining informed consent, the guarantee of confidentiality of the data and the management of risks associated with participation in the research. Indeed, they are present when discussing certain health issues, for example post-traumatic stress.
Technological challenges
For the online survey obtains a satisfactory response rate, it is also important to take into account some technical adjustments to make it more user-friendly questionnaire respondent (font, colors, animations, etc.). The choice of server will be as crucial as it ensures security of the data. This particular point, raises a number of questions that must be addressed: Who is hosting the server? What is the location of the server? Is there sufficient level of security available?
The choice of online survey software is also crucial to success of the survey. While making selection and choices a researcher should always consider a number of parameters (such as cost of the software, the number of possible investigations, ease of use, quality and availability of technical support, compatibility with statistical software, etc.). It will also be a “pre-test” of the study against certain technical aspects (such as site loading speed, response time to study, quality of instructions). It will also ensure that the data are properly redirected to the database and are usable.
Andrea Ashbaugh and Christophe Herbert discuss these issues in detail, May 18, 2011, as part of the summer school Good Practices for Health Research on the Internet where they will present a paper entitled “How to use the Internet to make quantitative research in health?. You can easily download full summer school program or obtain consultation through online program.
I think that online education can significantly reduce the cost of education, but also have the problem situation studied in different countries provided you have enough respondents.
Author Bio:
Sarah Hamilton is a well known scholor in the university of Kent. She also attached with a company Smart Write Ups for providing extra assistance to the students.
