Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2011
Impact of length or relevance of questionnaires on attrition in online trials: randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 78 citations in OpenAlex.
- Methods to increase response to postal and electronic questionnaires.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Strategies to improve retention in randomised trials.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Conceptualising engagement with digital behaviour change interventions: a systematic review using principles from critical interpretive synthesis.Translational behavioral medicine · 2017Pooled it
- Strategies to improve retention in randomised trials: a Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2014Pooled it
- Strategies to improve retention in randomised trials.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2013Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effectiveness of a Web-Based Direct-to-User Transfer Training Program: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2022Trial
- Impact of a Serious Game (Escape COVID-19) on the Intention to Change COVID-19 Control Practices Among Employees of Long-term Care Facilities: Web-Based Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Trial
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- Sugarsquare, a Web-Based Patient Portal for Parents of a Child With Type 1 Diabetes: Multicenter Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2017Trial
- Population Survey Features and Response Rates: A Randomized Experiment.American journal of public health · 2016Trial
- Trial
- Research Study Attrition and Participant-Informed Retention Strategies Among Cancer Survivors.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Article
- A pilot study of the online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Guide for Immigrant Resilience: A culturally adapted intervention for undocumented community members.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- "Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Embedding research study recruitment within the patient portal preCheck-in.Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA · 2023Article
- Using Digital Tools to Study the Health of Adults Born Preterm at a Large Scale: e-Cohort Pilot Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- Evaluation of Face Validity and Acceptability of the Care Partner Hospital Assessment Tool.Innovation in aging · 2023Article
- What over 1,000,000 participants tell us about online research protocols.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThere has been limited study of factors influencing response rates and attrition in online research. Online experiments were nested within the pilot (study 1, n = 3780) and main trial (study 2, n = 2667) phases of an evaluation of a Web-based intervention for hazardous drinkers: the Down Your Drink randomized controlled trial (DYD-RCT).
objectivesThe objective was to determine whether differences in the length and relevance of questionnaires can impact upon loss to follow-up in online trials.
methodsA randomized controlled trial design was used. All participants who consented to enter DYD-RCT and completed the primary outcome questionnaires were randomized to complete one of four secondary outcome questionnaires at baseline and at follow-up. These questionnaires varied in length (additional 23 or 34 versus 10 items) and relevance (alcohol problems versus mental health). The outcome measure was the proportion of participants who completed follow-up at each of two follow-up intervals: study 1 after 1 and 3 months and study 2 after 3 and 12 months.
resultsAt all four follow-up intervals there were no significant effects of additional questionnaire length on follow-up. Randomization to the less relevant questionnaire resulted in significantly lower rates of follow-up in two of the four assessments made (absolute difference of 4%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0%-8%, in both study 1 after 1 month and in study 2 after 12 months). A post hoc pooled analysis across all four follow-up intervals found this effect of marginal statistical significance (unadjusted difference, 3%, range 1%-5%, P = .01; difference adjusted for prespecified covariates, 3%, range 0%-5%, P = .05).
conclusionsApparently minor differences in study design decisions may have a measurable impact on attrition in trials. Further investigation is warranted of the impact of the relevance of outcome measures on follow-up rates and, more broadly, of the consequences of what we ask participants to do when we invite them to take part in research studies.
trial registrationISRCTN Register 31070347; http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN31070347/31070347 Archived by WebCite at (http://www.webcitation.org/62cpeyYaY).
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.