Questionnaires and web experiments are essential to the study of epidemiology that provide crucial information about the state of health and disease in the public. These are common methods of collecting data that are usually cheaper and less time-consuming than face-to-face interviews, mailed questionnaires, or automated telephone menu systems. Questionnaires and Web experiments are not free of limitations, which should be addressed to obtain valid and reliable results.

A questionnaire may be affected by response bias. This is the tendency of respondents to answer questions based on their own opinions rather than the research objectives. Additionally, questionnaire design can affect responses in several ways. For example, question wording may influence whether respondents are able to comprehend and interpret the question in the same manner (reliable), measure what you’re interested in (valid), or are able to answer the question accurately (credible).

Survey fatigue or a lack engagement with the questions can cause respondents to be less likely to give honest answers. In addition, a lack of incentives or monetary compensation could dissuade respondents from taking the time to business with virtual boardroom complete survey forms.

Online questionnaires also pose challenges for some experiments, for example, positioning or reaction time studies. It is challenging to control and measure variables across participants due to the differences in settings for browsers operating systems, browser settings, and screen sizes.

Finally, Web-based surveys are only available to people who are keyboard and Internet proficient, which currently excludes a significant proportion of the population. It’s also difficult for Web researchers to report on participants after the experiment window has ended.