Paper: Legitimacy of Internet Research among Midlife Women (19th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice)

Friday, 11 July 2008: 10:00 AM

Eun-Ok Im, RN, MPH, PhD, CNS, FAAN , School of Nursing, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

Wonshik Chee, PhD , Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

Yi Liu, MSN, RN , Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

Hyun Ju Lim, MSN , School of Nursing, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

Enrique Guevara, MSN, RN , School of Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

Hsiu-Min Tsai, PhD , Chang Gung Institute of Technology/Nursing, Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan

Learning Objective 1: Understand issues in Internet recruitment and data collection process of Internet research.

Learning Objective 2: Understand issues related to legitimacy of Internet research.

With an increasing number of Internet studies, researchers have reported advantages in using the Internet for research (e.g., accessibility, flexibility, cost-effectiveness). However, some negative and hostile experience in Internet research has also been reported. Despite these inconsistent findings, little is still known about Internet research. The purpose of this presentation is to describe legitimacy issues identified in an Internet study among a specific group of Internet population, online midlife women, and to provide future directions for Internet research.

The issues raised during an Internet study among 428 midlife women have been discussed and recorded through regular research meetings. Research staff members wrote memos related to the issues throughout the research process. Then, the group discussion records and memos were analyzed using content analysis.

The first identified issue was: because Internet interactions are based on non face-to-face interactions, it was difficult to identify and expect who would be contacted and informed about the study. Second, it was difficult to define private and public domains because each organization/community/group had different perspectives on them. Third, some Internet communities/groups raised a question on the legitimacy of the study because the study was Internet-based. Fourth, the information on the study was shared in several Internet sites for freebies by some teenagers, and they were trying to participate in the study while pretending to be midlife women. Finally, several unauthentic cases were identified (e.g., 9 sisters in a mailing address, 5 different ethnic minority women in one household, 2 men claiming monetary reimbursement of their wives' participation).

Researchers need to comply with the related policies and regulations, make a trustable study website with adequate information, strengthen the screening questions, specify the eligibility of the participants, and be open to new technologies and regularly update their technological skills and knowledge.

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