International Journal of Epidemiology 2001;30:521-525
© International Epidemiological Association 2001
Theory and Methods |
A comparison of cigarette smokers recruited through the Internet or by mail
Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Jean-François Etter, Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Geneva. CMU, Case Postale, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland. E-mail: etter{at}cmu.unige.ch Internet: www.stop-tabac.ch
Abstract
Objectives To compare smokers recruited by mail or through the Internet.
Methods A questionnaire was mailed to 19 352 inhabitants of Switzerland in 1998, in an effort to enrol them in a smoking cessation trial. The same questionnaire was also available on the Internet. Furthermore, we mailed a survey to a representative sample (n = 1000) of the population of Geneva, Switzerland, in 1996. In this study, we compare three groups: 1027 smokers recruited through the Internet, 2961 volunteer trial participants recruited by mail (response rate 16%), and 211 smokers in the representative sample also recruited by mail (response rate 75%).
Results Smokers self-recruited through the Internet were younger, more educated, more motivated to quit smoking and smoked more cigarettes per day than smokers in the other samples. Compared to trial participants, Internet participants had more negative attitudes towards smoking, higher self-efficacy scores, and were more addicted to tobacco. The strength of associations between smoking-related variables was similar in Internet and trial participants.
Conclusion As expected, the three groups of smokers differed on several characteristics. However, bias in distributions of variables did not imply bias in associations between variables. Thus, Internet recruitment is a potentially useful method for analytical studies that focus on associations between variables.
KEY MESSAGES
- Collecting epidemiological data on the Internet is feasible and cost-effective, and can provide data of good quality and large samples.
- Smokers recruited through the Internet differed from smokers recruited by mail on several characteristics. However, bias in distributions of variables did not imply bias in associations between smoking-related variables.
- Internet recruitment is a potentially useful method for analytical studies that focus on associations between variables.
Keywords Smoking prevention and control, internet, mail surveys, bias
Accepted 17 October 2000
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