Recognizing and Preventing Participant Deception in Online Nicotine and Tobacco Research Studies: Suggested Tactics and a Call to Action.

Abstract

Nicotine and tobacco researchers have been increasingly using online methods to conduct research, but this became a practical necessity following the COVID-19 pandemic and the coinciding restrictions on in-person data collection. Online research has many potential advantages to participants and scientists, including greater convenience of and access to research participation and greater diversity and geographic distribution of study samples. Centralized recruitment, data collection, and intervention may also translate into increased staffing efficiencies, lower research costs, and can allow information to be collected in real-time, under real-world conditions, thereby increasing validity and generalizability. At the same time, online studies introduce new challenges, particularly regarding deception among potential participants. This includes misrepresenting critical information about eligibility criteria or study outcomes. Individually and collectively, these practices can significantly undermine research integrity. Participant deception occurs frequently in research, whether conducted online or in person. Across all research formats, it is estimated that anywhere from...