Web Survey Bibliography
Title Information Needs and Visitors' Experience of an Internet Expert Forum on Infertility
Author Himmel, W., Meyer, J., Kochen, M. M., Michelmann, H.-W.
Source Journal of Medical Internet Research, 7, 2, article 20
Year 2005
Access date 26.07.2005
Abstract Background: Patients increasingly use health portals and Web-based expert forums (ask-the-doctor services), but little is known about the specific needs of Internet users visiting such websites, the nature of their requests, or how satisfied they are with Internet health experts.
Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the information requests of (mostly female) patients visiting an Internet expert forum on involuntary childlessness and their satisfaction with the experts' feedback.
Methods: We posted an electronic questionnaire on a website hosting an expert forum on involuntary childlessness. The questionnaire was “activated” whenever a visitor sent a question or request to the expert forum. The survey focused on the reasons for visiting the expert forum and whether the visitors were satisfied with the experts' answers to previously posted questions. The free-text questions of visitors who answered the survey were analyzed using Atlas-ti, a software program for qualitative data analysis.
Results: Over a period of 6 months, 513 out of 610 visitors (84%) answered the questionnaire. The majority of respondents (65.5%) expected general information about involuntary childlessness, conception, or an evaluation of drugs. Others were concerned about their actual treatment (40.6%) and therapeutic options (28.8%). Out of 225 respondents who had previously contacted the forum, 223 had received an answer, and 123 (55.2%) were satisfied with the experts' answers. About half (105/223) of those users who had previously received an answer from the expert forum stated that they had discussed it with their own doctor. More of these users were satisfied with their subsequent care in fertility clinics than users who did not talk to their doctor about their Internet activities (93.9% vs 76.1%; P = .015 ). According to the qualitative analysis, many requests (n = 194) were more or less trivial, especially those for information on basic aspects of reproduction. More than one-third of visitors (n = 199) sent detailed results of diagnostic tests and asked for a first or second opinion. Requests to the expert forum were also sent in order to obtain emotional support (17%) or to complain about a doctor (15%).
Conclusions: Visitors who sent their laboratory findings to receive a thorough evaluation or a second opinion had a good command of the opportunities that an expert forum offers. One important expectation of the forum was emotional support, indicating psychological needs that were not met by medical providers. Future websites must find a compromise in order to protect experts from being overwhelmed by general, nonspecific requests while supporting patients with individualized answers.
Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the information requests of (mostly female) patients visiting an Internet expert forum on involuntary childlessness and their satisfaction with the experts' feedback.
Methods: We posted an electronic questionnaire on a website hosting an expert forum on involuntary childlessness. The questionnaire was “activated” whenever a visitor sent a question or request to the expert forum. The survey focused on the reasons for visiting the expert forum and whether the visitors were satisfied with the experts' answers to previously posted questions. The free-text questions of visitors who answered the survey were analyzed using Atlas-ti, a software program for qualitative data analysis.
Results: Over a period of 6 months, 513 out of 610 visitors (84%) answered the questionnaire. The majority of respondents (65.5%) expected general information about involuntary childlessness, conception, or an evaluation of drugs. Others were concerned about their actual treatment (40.6%) and therapeutic options (28.8%). Out of 225 respondents who had previously contacted the forum, 223 had received an answer, and 123 (55.2%) were satisfied with the experts' answers. About half (105/223) of those users who had previously received an answer from the expert forum stated that they had discussed it with their own doctor. More of these users were satisfied with their subsequent care in fertility clinics than users who did not talk to their doctor about their Internet activities (93.9% vs 76.1%; P = .015 ). According to the qualitative analysis, many requests (n = 194) were more or less trivial, especially those for information on basic aspects of reproduction. More than one-third of visitors (n = 199) sent detailed results of diagnostic tests and asked for a first or second opinion. Requests to the expert forum were also sent in order to obtain emotional support (17%) or to complain about a doctor (15%).
Conclusions: Visitors who sent their laboratory findings to receive a thorough evaluation or a second opinion had a good command of the opportunities that an expert forum offers. One important expectation of the forum was emotional support, indicating psychological needs that were not met by medical providers. Future websites must find a compromise in order to protect experts from being overwhelmed by general, nonspecific requests while supporting patients with individualized answers.
Access/Direct link Journal (full text)
Year of publication2005
Bibliographic typeJournal article
Web survey bibliography - 2005 (76)
- The ethics of research using electronic mail discussion groups; 2005; Kralik, D., Warren, J., Koch, T., Pignone, G., Price, K.
- The Analyses of Domestic Study about Internet Survey; 2005; Rui, L., Tie-ying, S.
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- Expert workshop on mixed mode data collection in comparative social surveys; 2005; Roberts, C.
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- The total survey error approach. A guide to the new science of survey research; 2005; Weisberg, H. F.
- The professional respondent problem in online panel surveys today; 2005; Fulgoni, G.
- Satisficing behavior in online panelists; 2005; Downes-Le Guin, T.
- Reading behavior in the digital environment: Changes in reading behavior over the past ten years; 2005; Liu, Z.
- Rating versus comparative trade-off measures. Trending changes in political issues across time and predictive...; 2005; Thomas, R. K., Behnke, S., Johnson, Al., Sanders, M.
- Publication bias: Recognizing the problem, understanding its origins and scope, and preventing harm; 2005; Dickersin, K.
- Panel proliferation and quality concerns; 2005; Faasse, J.
- Gricean effects in self-administered survey. Ph.D. Dissertation; 2005; Yan, T.
- Drop-down boxes, radio buttons, or fill-in-the-blank? Web survey scale-type effects; 2005
- Does weighting for nonresponse increase the variance of survey means?; 2005; Little, R. J., Vartivarian, S.
- Big scale observations gathered with the help of client side paradata; 2005; Haraldsen, G., Kleven, O., Sundvoll, A.
- User Interface Design and Evaluation ; 2005; Stone, D., Jarrett, C., Woodroffe, M., Minocha, S.
- Adding Value to Data Through Improved Access. The Case for Web Portals; 2005; Baker, R. P.
- Multi-Mode Research and Data Linkage. Theoretical and Practical Advice; 2005; Terhanian, G.
- Architectural Design of a Survey Questionnaire and Respondent Data Repository. Practical Considerations...; 2005; Cookson, P., Sobell, J.
- Developing and validating a nursing website evaluation questionnaire; 2005; Tsai, S. - L., Chai, S.-K.
- Workaround: Site’s surveys beat pop-up blockers, yield responses; 2005; Arnold, C.
- The Story of Subject Naught: A Cautionary but Optimistic Tale of Internet Survey Research; 2005; Konstan, J. A., Ross, M. W., Rosser, B. R. S., Stanton, J. M., Edwards, W. M.
- Standards in Online Surveys. Sources for Professional Codes of Conduct, Ethical Guidelines and Quality...; 2005; Kaczmirek, L., Schulze, N.
- Computer adaptive testing; 2005; Gershon, R. C.
- Ego control and ego-resiliency: Generalization of self-report scales based on personality descriptions...; 2005; Block, J., Funder, D. C., Letzring, T. D.
- The Web experiment list: A Web service for the recruitment of participants and archiving of Internet...; 2005; Reips, U. -D., Lengler, R.
- Survey of substance use among high school students in Taipei: Web-based questionnaire versus paper-and...; 2005; Wang, Y. C., Lee, C. M., Lew-Ting, C. Y., Hsiao, C. K., Chen, W. J.
- Web Surveys. A Brief Guide on Usability and Implementation Issues; 2005; Kaczmirek, L.
- An assessment of measurement invariance between online and mail surveys ; 2005; Deutskens, E., de Ruyter, K., Wetzels, M.
- E-mail versus Web survey response rates among health education professionals; 2005; Kittleson, M. J., Brown, S. L.
- Toward An Open-Source Methodology: What We Can Learn From The Blogosphere; 2005; M.
- Aux Abonnes Absents: Liste Rouge Et Telephone Portable Dans Les Enquetes En Population Generale Sur...; 2005; Beck, F., ., Peretti-Watel, P.
- Web Versus Paper Questionnares: A Design and Functionality - Comparison; 2005; Jones, Ja., Fraser, C., Dowling, Z.
- Web Surveys and the new Disability Discrimination Act; 2005; Macer, T.
- Mixed-mode Surveys Using Mail and Web Questionnaires; 2005; Meckel, M., Baugh, P., Walters, D.
- Sampling procedure, questionnaire design, online implementation; 2005; Jackob, N., Arens, J., Zerback, T., Jowell, R., de Rouvray, C.
- Simple Approaches to Estimating the Variance of the Propensity Score Weighted Estimator Applied on Volunteer...; 2005; Isaksson, A., Lee, S., de Rouvray, C.
- Simple Approaches to Estimating the Variance of the Propensity Score Weighted Estimator Applied on Volunteer...; 2005; Isaksson, A., Lee, S.
- Alternative Modes for Health Surveillance Surveys: An Experiment with Web, Mail, and Telephone; 2005; Link, M. W., Mokdad, A.
- An Experimental Comparison Of Web And Telephone Surveys; 2005; Fricker, S., Galesic, M., Tourangeau, R., Yan, T.
- Organizational Virtual Communities: Exploring Motivations Behind Online Panel Participation; 2005; Daugherty, T., Lee, W.-N., Gangadharbatla, H., Kim, K., Outhavong, S.
- Promoting Uniform Question Understanding in Today's and Tomorrow's Surveys; 2005; Conrad, F. G., Schober, M. F.
- Is a Web survey as effective as a mail survey? A field experiment among computer users; 2005; Kiernan, N. E., Kiernan, M., Oyler, M. A., Gilles, C.
- The effect of personalization on response rates and data quality in web surveys; 2005; Heerwegh, D., Vanhove, T., Matthijs, K., Loosveldt, G.
- When Methodology Interferes With Substance; 2005; Schoen, H., Faas, T.
- Web-based and Mailed Questionnaires: A Comparison of Response Rates and Compliance; 2005; Baelter, K., Balter, O., Fondell, E., Trolle-Lagerros, Y.
- Bleeding Edge or Proven Technology? The Fact and the Fiction of Mobile Survey Computing; 2005; Cameron, M. R.