Online health survey research during COVID-19

Your inbox probably has more invitations to join online health research surveys than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Online surveys have become an important tool for COVID-19 research when conventional survey methods are not feasible. Yet the response to COVID-19 has also underlined the urgent need for high-quality behavioural data. Is the trend towards online health survey research an indication of practices to come or a stark reminder of the perils of convenient sampling methods? This Comment examines unique opportunities associated with online health research surveys, challenges in implementing and interpreting data from online surveys, and considerations for getting the most out of online health research. Online surveys provide unique opportunities for research in the COVID-19 era. First, many conventional methods for obtaining behavioural data from people (eg, pencil-and-paper surveys as a part of representative population house surveys) are not feasible during the pandemic. There are few options for collecting real-time information in person as part of an emergency response. Second, although COVID-19 measures might increase the digital divide in accessing health services, policy responses to COVID-19 might decrease the digital divide in terms of completing an online survey.1 Policy responses have elevated broadband access to a fundamental right, providing support for public policies to expand internet access. Third, digital tools and networks (eg, national digital identification numbers) provide increased opportunities for online surveys. Creating and administering an online survey can be done in a fraction of the time and cost needed to organise a similar in-person research study. Fourth, for some sensitive survey items (eg, sexual practices or drug use), people might prefer an online survey compared with one administered in person.2 With the backdrop of COVID-19, these same behaviours might change over time, increasing the importance of this research agenda.