Web Survey Bibliography
Background: Self-report measures can guide clinical decisions and are useful when evaluating treatment outcomes. However, many clinicians do not use self-report measures systematically in their clinical practice. Internet-based questionnaires could facilitate administration, but the psychometric properties of the online version of an instrument should be explored before implementation. The recommendation from the International Test Commission is to test the psychometric properties of each questionnaire separately.
Objective: Our objective was to compare the psychometric properties of paper-and-pencil versions and Internet versions of two questionnaires measuring depressive symptoms.
Methods: The 87 participating patients were recruited from primary care and psychiatric care within the public health care system in Sweden. Participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale—Self-rated (MADRS-S), both on paper and on the Internet. The order was randomized to control for order effects. Symptom severity in the sample ranged from mild to severe depressive symptoms.
Results: Psychometric properties of the two administration formats were mostly equivalent. The internal consistency was similar for the Internet and paper versions, and significant correlations were found between the formats for both MADRS-S (r = .84) and the BDI-II (r = .89). Differences between paper and Internet total scores were not statistically significant for either questionnaire nor for the MADRS-S question dealing with suicidality (item 9) when analyzed separately. The score on the BDI-II question about suicidality (item 9) was significantly lower when administered via the Internet compared with the paper score, but the difference was small (effect size, Cohen’s [d] = 0.14). There were significant main effects for order of administration on both questionnaires and significant interaction effects between format and order. This should not, however, pose a problem in clinical use as long as the administration format is not changed when repeated measurements are made.
Conclusions: The MADRS-S can be transferred to online use without affecting the psychometric properties in a clinically meaningful way. The full BDI-II also seems to retain its properties when transferred; however, the item measuring suicidality in the Internet version needs further investigation since it was associated with a lower score in this study. The use of online questionnaires offers clinicians a more practical way of measuring depressive symptoms and has the potential to save resources.
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Web survey bibliography (37)
- Determinants of polling accuracy: the effect of opt-in Internet surveys; 2017; Sohlberg, J.; Gilljam, M.; Martinsson, J.
- Online Focus Group Discussion is a Valid and Feasible Mode When Investigating Sensitive Topics Among...; 2016; Wettergren, L.; Eriksson, L. E.; Nilsson, J.; Jarvaeus, A.; Lampic, C.
- Implementation of Web-Based Respondent Driven Sampling among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Sweden; 2016; Stroemdahl, S.; Lu, X.; Bengtsson, L.; Liljeros, F.; Thorson, A.
- Measuring Generalized Trust: An Examination of Question Wording and the Number of Scale Points; 2016; Lundmark, S.; Giljam, M.; Dahlberg, S.
- Same, Same but Different: Effects of mixing Web and mail modes in audience research; 2015; Bergstroem, A.
- An Empirical Test of Nonresponse Bias in Internet Surveys; 2015; af Wahlberg, AE; Poom, L.
- The problem of non-response in population surveys on the topic of HIV and sexuality: a comparative study...; 2014; Wallander, L.; H.; Mannheimer, L. N.; Oestergren, P. O.; Plantin, L.Tikkanen, R. H.
- Perioperative management in order to minimise postoperative delirium and postoperative cognitive dysfunction...; 2014; Jildenstål, P. K., Jakobsson, J. G., Hallen, J. L., Berggren, L., Rawal, N.
- Measuring Political Participation—Testing Social Desirability Bias in a Web-Survey Experiment; 2014; Persson, M., Solevid, M.
- Process Planning for CNC Machining of Swedish Subcontractors – A Web Survey; 2014; Anderberg, S., Beno, T., Pejryd, L.
- Postal recruitment into a longitudinal online panel survey. The effects of different number of reminder...; 2013; Martinsson, J.
- Web panel surveys – can they be designed and used in a scientifically sound way?; 2013; Svensson, J.
- A standard with quality indicators for web panel surveys: a Swedish example; 2013; Nyfjaell, M.
- The effect of short formative diagnostic web quizzes with minimal feedback; 2013; Baelter, O., Enstroem, E., Klingenberg, B.
- Measure the response burden in the Swedish Intrastat system; 2012; Weideskog, F.
- Triton: a general tool for data collection and micro editing; 2011; Erikson, J.
- How to Survey All 14 000 Swedish Local Political Representatives And Get 10 000 Responses.; 2011; Gilljam, M., Granberg, D., Holm, B., Persson, M.
- Internet-Based Follow-Up Questionnaire for Measuring Patient-Reported Outcome after Total Hip Replacement...; 2011; Rolfson, O., Salomonsson, R., Garellick, G., Dahlberg, L. E.
- What it takes to be a top 100 website; 2010
- Using a Mixed-Mode Design to Survey Ethnic Minorities?; 2010; Feskens, R., Kappelhof, J.
- Item Nonresponse Analysis for a Mixed-Mode Survey.; 2010; Lorenc, B., Olsson, K.
- A Comparison of Psychometric Properties Between Internet and Paper Versions of Two Depression Instruments...; 2010; Andersson, G., Engstroem, I., Hollaendare, F.
- Questionnaire Design Guidelines for Establishment Surveys; 2010; Morrison, R. L., Dillman, D. A., Christian, L. M.
- Internet administration of self-report measures commonly used in research on social anxiety disorder...; 2010; Hedman, E., Ljótsson, B., Rück, C., Furmark, T., Carlbring, P., Lindefors, N., Andersson, G.
- E-epidemiology : Adapting epidemiological methods for the 21st century; 2009; Bexelius, C.
- Statistical analysis of on-line courses; 2009; Baelter, O.
- Optimal Contact Strategy in a Mail and Web Mixed Mode Survey ; 2009; Holmberg, A., Lorenc, B., Werner, P.
- SMS versus telephone interviews for epidemiological data collection: feasibility study estimating influenza...; 2009; Bexelius, C., Merk, H., Sandin, S., Ekman, A., Nyren, O., Kuehlmann-Berenzon, S., Linde, A., Litton,...
- Web-based measurement: Effect of completing single or multiple items per webpage; 2009; Thorndike, F. P., Carlbring, P., Smyth, F. L., Magee, J. C., Gonder-Frederick, L., Ost, L. G., Ritterband...
- Swedish National Data Service's Strategy for Sharing and Mediating Data; 2008; Carlhed, C., Alfredsson, I.
- The power of the visible: Visual design for Web surveys; 2006; Couper, M. P.
- On the cost-efficiency of probability sampling based mail surveys with a Web response option; 2005; Werner, P.
- Simple Approaches to Estimating the Variance of the Propensity Score Weighted Estimator Applied on Volunteer...; 2005; Isaksson, A., Lee, S.
- Web-based and Mailed Questionnaires: A Comparison of Response Rates and Compliance; 2005; Baelter, K., Balter, O., Fondell, E., Trolle-Lagerros, Y.
- On the Variability of Estimates Based on Propensity-score-weighted Data from Web Panels; 2004; Forsman, G., Danielsson, S., Isaksson, A.
- On-line qualitative market research: Interviewing the world at a fingertip; 2002; Scholl, N., Mulders, S., Drent, R.
- Doec propensity score weighting work for Web Surveys; 2002; Forsman, G., Varedian, M.
- Calibration as a standard method for treatment of nonresponse; 1999; Lundstrom, S., Sarndal, C.-E.