Limitations of Questionnaires and Web Experiments
Questionnaires and web experiments are a vital epidemiologic technique, providing important information on the condition of public health and diseases. They are the most commonly used methods of gathering data, and are generally less costly and time-consuming than face-toface interviews, mailed questionnaires, or automated telephone menu systems. Questionnaires and Web tests are not without limitations, and these should be addressed to achieve reliable and valid results.
A questionnaire could be influenced by response bias, which is the tendency of respondents to answer questions according to their own opinions, not the research goals. Moreover, questionnaire design can influence responses in various ways: for example the wording of the question can affect whether respondents comprehend and interpret the question in the same manner (reliable) and also, determine what you’re looking for (valid) or are able to answer the question accurately (credible).
A lack of engagement click to read with the questionnaire can also cause respondents to be less inclined to give honest responses. A lack of incentive or compensation might also discourage participants from filling out the questionnaire.
Online questionnaires can also pose a challenge for some experimental designs, such as reaction-time or positioning studies. The variation in settings for browsers as well as screen sizes and operating systems makes it challenging to measure and control the same variables across participants.
Finally, web-based surveys may only be accessed by people who are keyboard and Internet literate. This excludes a substantial portion of the population. It’s also difficult for Web researchers debriefing participants after the window for their experiment has closed.
