Limitations of Questionnaires and Web Experiments

Web-based research and questionnaires are essential epidemiologic tools that provide crucial information about public health and diseases. They are a standard method of collecting data, which is typically less expensive and time-consuming than face-to-face interviews, mailed questionnaires, or automated telephone menu systems. Questionnaires and Web experiments are not free of limitations, which must be addressed to achieve reliable and valid results.

A questionnaire could be influenced by response bias, the tendency of respondents to answer questions according to their opinions rather than the research goals. Furthermore, the design of a questionnaire can influence responses in a variety of ways: for example the wording of questions can influence whether respondents understand and interpret the questions in the same way (reliable) or whether you can determine the topic you’re interested in (valid) or are able to answer in a timely manner (credible).

Respondents might also experience survey fatigue or a lack of interest in the questions, which reduces the likelihood of them offering honest answers. A lack of incentive or compensation might also discourage participants from filling out the questionnaire.

Online questionnaires can also pose a challenge for certain experimental designs, like reaction-time or positioning studies. The varying settings of browsers screens, sizes, and operating systems makes it difficult to control and measure the same variables for different people.

In the end, web-based surveys can only be accessed by those who have keyboards and Internet literate. This excludes a significant part of the population. In addition, it is usually difficult for Web researchers to debrief participants after an experiment’s end.

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