The feasibility of collecting health behavior data from university students using World Wide Web research technology : a comparison of Web-based and mailed, self-administered survey methodologies PDF
Preview The feasibility of collecting health behavior data from university students using World Wide Web research technology : a comparison of Web-based and mailed, self-administered survey methodologies
THEFEASIBILITYOFCOLLECTINGHEALTHBEHAVIORDATAFROM UNIVERSITYSTUDENTSUSINGWORLDWIDEWEBRESEARCH TECHNOLOGY:ACOMPARISONOFWEB-BASEDANDMAILED, SELF-ADMINISTEREDSURVEYMETHODOLOGIES By LISANICOLEPEALER ADISSERTATIONPRESENTEDTOTHEGRADUATESCHOOL OFTHEUNIVERSITYOFFLORIDAINPARTIALFULFILLMENT OFTHEREQUIREMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOF DOCTOROFPHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDA 1999 Copyright1999 by LisaNicolePealer ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Wemustwalkconsciouslyonlypartwaytowardourgoal, andthenleapinthedarktooursuccess. HenryDavidThoreau Iwouldliketothankmydissertationchair,Dr.SteveM.Dorman,andcommittee members-ProfessorDavidMiller,ProfessorR.MorganPigg,Jr.,and Dr.RobertM.Weiler—forcreatingasupportivelearningenvironmentforthisexperience. Eachmemberofmycommitteeunselfishlyofferedprofessionalguidanceandpersonal supportsoIcouldachievethisgoal. ThroughoutmyeducationIhavemetandbefriendedmanyindividualswhohelped effectmydecisiontopursuethisdegreeandgavemecouragetocontinueuntilits conclusion. Manyhavebeenmyownstudents,whosekindswordsunknowinglyreminded meofthepleasuresofteaching. ManyhavebeenpeersinourgraduateprogramwhoIhave beenfortunatenotonlytomeet,butalsototeachwithandattendclass. Theyallhelped instillstrengthandkindness,andhavehelpedmebecomeabetterstudentandabetter teacher. Others,Ihaveonlyjustbeguntodevelopprofessionalrelationshipsand friendshipswithstillofferedtheirassistance. MysincerethankstoStephanieLancefor herextraassistancewithourclassinthespringsothatIcouldconcentrateonmyresearch, andtoDeniseSeabertforofferingherclassformypilotstudy.Ms.JaniceDouglasandMs. Ms.ElaineKennanarebothdearfriends,whonotonlyofferedendlesssupportinthe office,butgenerouslygavetheirtimetobesurrogatemotherswhendailyemotional supportwasneeded. Ialsowouldliketoextendthankstothemembersofmyexpertpanelfortaking timetocarefullyexaminetheUniversityofFloridaHealthBehaviorSurveyforsensitive questions.Theirreviewwasinvaluableforansweringmyresearchquestions. IalsowishtothankDr.CharlesWilliams,AssociateDeanfortheCollegeofHealth andHumanPerformance,forassistingmeingainingaccesstomystudysample,andforhis continuedkindnessthroughoutmydoctoralstudies. SpecialthanksareextendedtoDr.R.MorganPigg,Jr.,andDr.RobertM.Weiler fortheircombinedcommitmenttomypersonalandprofessionalsuccess. WithoutDr. Pigg’sinsistencethatIremaintruetomyinterestintechnology,thisstudywouldnothave beenconceived.AndwithoutDr.Weiler’spatienceandencouragement,thestudycouldnot havebeenexecuted. Withouttheirweeklyremindersofmyabilityandtheirkindwordsof encouragement,myowndoubtswouldhaveendedthestudy. Iamgratefulforboththe additionaltimetheydevotedtomystudyandthecopiouslaughterwhichkepteverythingin perspective. Finally,Iwishtothankmymotherandfatherforindulgingmeinmydreamandfor providingimmeasurableemotionalsupport;tomysisterfortryingtounderstand;andto LoganformakingmetakehimonwalksandforjustbeinghimselfwhenthatiswhatI neededmost;andtotheonepersonIcouldalwaysdependontomakemelaugh. IV TABLEOFCONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii LISTOFFIGURES viii LISTOFTABLES ix ABSTRACT x CHAPTERS 1 INTRODUCTIONTOTHESTUDY 1 StatementoftheResearchProblem 2 PurposeoftheStudy 6 NeedfortheStudy 6 ResearchQuestions 9 ResearchVariables 9 ResearchDesign 10 StudyPopulation 10 Instrumentation 11 DataCollection 11 DataAnalysis 13 Delimitations 13 Limitations 14 Assumptions 15 DefinitionofTerms 17 Summary 22 2 REVIEWOFLITERATURE 24 SurveyResearch 24 TraditionalSurveyResearch 26 CommonElementsofTraditionalSurveyResearch 30 Computer-AssistedSurveyResearch 41 v Internet-BasedSurveyResearch 48 ElectronicMailSurveyResearch 50 Web-BasedSurveyResearch 57 HealthRiskBehaviorSurveillanceSystems 69 TheNationalCollegeHealthRiskBehaviorSurvey 71 Web-BasedSurveyComputerSoftware 74 Summary 75 3 MATERIALSANDMETHODS 76 ResearchDesign 76 ResearchVariables 78 StudyPopulation 80 Instrumentation 81 HumanSubjects 86 PilotStudy 86 DataCollection 90 DataAnalysis 94 Summary 97 4 RESULTS 98 StudyDemographicsandProfileCharacteristics 98 ResearchQuestionOne 101 ResearchQuestionTwo 103 ResearchQuestionThree 104 ResearchQuestionFour 105 ResearchQuestionFive 107 Summary Ill 5 SUMMARY,CONCLUSIONS,DISCUSSION, ANDRECOMMENDATIONS 114 Summary 114 Conclusions 117 Discussion 119 Recommendations 132 vi » APPENDICES A UniversityofFloridaHealthBehaviorSurvey 135 Mailed,Self-Administered:UFHBS-M B UnivWeerbsi-tByasoefdF:loUriFdHaBHeSa-ltWhBehaviorSurvey .... 153 C PrenotificationPostcardandE-mail 180 D CoverLetterforUFHBS-M 183 E E-MailNotificationofSelectionforUFHBS-W 185 F CoverLetterandGeneralInstructionsforUFHBS-W 187 G ReminderPostcardandE-Mail 189 H ExpertPanelReviewMembers 192 I ExpertPanelReview InstrumentAssessmentPacket(Sample) 195 J UniversityofFloridaInstitutionalReviewBoardApplication 202 K SecondReminderLetter 207 L ParticipantThank-youCard 210 M Web-basedSurveyGroup:Verbatim ParticipantComments 212 REFERENCES 216 BIOGRAPHICALSKETCH 224 vii LISTOFFIGURES Figure page 1. AscreencaptureoftheRand-36asitwasdevelopedandpresented intabularformatforWeb-basedadministration 58 2. AscreencaptureoftheWeb-basedsurveygroupcoverletter 91 3. AscreencaptureoftheWeb-basedsurveygroupquestionnaire 92 4. AcostcomparisonofWeb-basedsurveyresearchand mailed,self-administeredsurveyresearch 129 5. AproposedmodelforconductingWeb-basedsurveyresearch usinganexperimentaldesign 131 vm LISTOFTABLES Table page 1. CommentsfromPilotStudyParticipants 89 2. ResponseRateByGroup 99 3. AComparisonofStudySampleandUniversityPopulation (ExpressedinPercentages) 101 4. Chi-squareAnalysisoftheContingencyTableforResponseRate byGroup 102 5. DescriptiveStatisticsandt-testResultsComparingtheWeb-based SurveyGroupandtheMailed,Self-AdministeredSurveyGroupon MeanNumberofDaysNeededtoCompleteandReturnQuestionnaire....104 6. DescriptiveStatisticsandt-testResultsComparingtheWeb-based SurveyGroupandtheMailed,Self-AdministeredSurveyGroupon MeanNumberofItemsNotAnsweredPerQuestionnaire 105 10. 7. DescriptiveStatisticsandt-testResultsComparingtheWeb-based SurveyGroupandtheMailed,Self-AdministeredSurveyGroupon MeanNumberofItemCompletionErrors 106 8. SensitiveHealthBehaviorSurveyItemsasDetermined byanExpertPanel 109 9. HealthBehaviorSurveyItemsUsedtoDetermine theNumberofSensitiveItemsCompletedPerQuestionnaire 110 DescriptiveStatisticsandt-testResultsComparingtheWeb-based SurveyGroupandtheMailed,Self-AdministeredSurveyGroupon NumberofSensitiveItemsNotAnswered Ill IX AbstractofDissertationPresentedtotheGraduateSchooloftheUniversityofFloridain PartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsfortheDegreeofDoctorofPhilosophy THEFEASIBILITYOFCOLLECTINGHEALTHBEHAVIORDATAFROM UNIVERSITYSTUDENTSUSINGWORLDWIDEWEBRESEARCH TECHNOLOGY:ACOMPARISONOFWEB-BASEDANDMAILED, SELF-ADMINISTEREDSURVEYMETHODOLOGIES By LisaNicolePealer August1999 Chairman:SteveM.Dorman MajorDepartment:HealthScienceEducation Thoughrapidlyemergingasacommunicationsmedium,theeffectivenessand efficiencyoftheWorldWideWeb(Web)forsurveyresearchhasnotbeenadequately assessed. Thisstudydeterminedthefeasibilityofcollectinghealthbehaviordatafroma randomsampleofUniversityofFloridaundergraduatestudentsusingaWeb-basedsurvey. Thestudyusedatrueexperimentaldesignwithrandomassignmentandincludedtwo experimentalgroups:themailed,self-administeredsurveygroupandtheWeb-basedsurvey group. Datawerecollectedfrom361undergraduatestudentswhocomprisedasample (N=600)drawnrandomlyfromapopulationof22,652studentswhohadafreeGatorLink x
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