Abstract
Introduction Interests in using information technology and specifically the Internet for epidemiological research (e- epidemiology) are increasing since it is expected to add several advantages to the traditional modes of data collection. These may include increased response rates, improved data quality and a more rapid and cost-efficient method for data collection and study population recruitment. In this study, we provide an overview of the latest developments in this relatively new field within epidemiologic research, focusing on methods of data collection and recruitment of study participants. Conclusion Information technology for data collection within epidemiological research offers many possibilities for large-scale studies: the current developments in the field of e-epidemiology show promising results, especially with regard to Web-based questionnaires, which showed that depending on the study population, the response rates for Web-based questionnaires may be higher than for paper-based questionnaires. However, future research should focus on the internal and external validity of the data collected, as well as on other aspects of e- epidemiologic research, including participant recruitment through the Internet, use of Web 2.0 content, data collection through smartphone applications, short message service and videoconferencing, and inherent privacy and ethical concerns.
Highlights
Interests in using information technology and the Internet for epidemiological research (e- epidemiology) are increasing since it is expected to add several advantages to the traditional modes of data collection
E-epidemiology refers to the large-scale epidemiological studies that are increasingly conducted through distributed global collaborations enabled by the Internet’
They expected that e-epidemiology would have several advantages over the traditional modes of data collection and participant recruitment, leading to increased response rates, improvements in data quality, possibilities to reach targeted populations that might otherwise be hard or impossible to contact and a more rapid and costefficient means for data collection and processing
Summary
Interests in using information technology and the Internet for epidemiological research (e- epidemiology) are increasing since it is expected to add several advantages to the traditional modes of data collection These may include increased response rates, improved data quality and a more rapid and cost-efficient method for data collection and study population recruitment. E-epidemiology refers to the large-scale epidemiological studies that are increasingly conducted through distributed global collaborations enabled by the Internet’ They expected that e-epidemiology would have several advantages over the traditional modes of data collection and participant recruitment, leading to increased response rates, improvements in data quality, possibilities to reach targeted populations that might otherwise be hard or impossible to contact and a more rapid and costefficient means for data collection and processing. We provide an overview of the current state of knowledge and latest developments in e-epidemiology, focusing on data collection methods and means for participant recruitment used in this relatively new field within epidemiological research
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