Open AccessResponse rate to an online questionnaire amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in undergraduate students and graduates from a Colombian university
Author(s) -
Adalberto CampoArias,
John Carlos Pedrozo-Pupo,
Leynin Caamaño-Rocha
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
revista de la facultad de medicina
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.141
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 2357-3848
pISSN - 0120-0011
DOI - 10.15446/revfacmed.v70n3.95888
Subject(s) - representativeness heuristic , anonymity , misinformation , sample (material) , covid-19 , exploratory research , psychology , pandemic , stigma (botany) , public health , medical education , applied psychology , social psychology , medicine , computer science , nursing , sociology , computer security , psychiatry , social science , chemistry , disease , chromatography , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
In epidemiology and public health research, caution is necessary when addressing results reported by studies based on the administration of online questionnaires. The most critical limitation in such studies is their impossibility of guaranteeing the representativeness of the sample. However, when having a representative sample is secondary, online questionnaires are an excellent alternative for exploratory studies that seek to obtain information about emerging phenomena quickly and cost-effectively or address sensitive issues, for this approach allows reaching populations difficult to get in contact with using traditional strategies. Online research allows the complete anonymity of participants and ensures they provide a more honest response, regardless of their social desirability, any stigma, or discrimination.