ArticlePloS one2023
Shedding light on participant selection bias in Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) studies: Findings from an internet panel study.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
What it found
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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
15 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- From Who experiences stress to When It Occurs: Revisiting Lazarus' transactional model of stress using an ecological momentary assessment framework.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- Real-Time Symptom Ratings Using Ecological Momentary Assessment Versus Traditional Questionnaires in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Observational Study.JMIR medical informatics · 2026Observational
- Analysis of Participant-Level Characteristics Predicting Adherence to Long-Term EMA and Fitbit Monitoring in the 4HAIE Prospective Cohort Study.International journal of behavioral medicine · 2026Article
- Examining the effectiveness of financial vs. social incentives to participate in a smartphone ecological momentary assessment well-being study: protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
- Tracking everyday emotional experiences in university students with the distinct mood assessment questionnaire.Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) · 2026Article
- Making trauma ecological momentary assessment studies FAIR: review of design considerations and data procedures.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2025Review
- Development and validation of the mobility in middle-age questionnaire.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2025Article
- Associations Between Social Determinants of Health and Adherence in Mobile-Based Ecological Momentary Assessment: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Change points for dynamic biomarkers in the Alzheimer's disease pathological cascade: A 30-year cohort study.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Article
- Innovative and ecological: integrating ecological momentary assessment into environmental science research.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to understand occupation from the perspective of the experiencing self: An illustrative example in workers with type 1 diabetes.Journal of occupational science · 2024Article
- The Understanding America Study (UAS).BMJ open · 2024Article
- Whole Day Workload: Evaluation of a New Outcome Measure in Occupational Therapy for Adults With Type 1 Diabetes.The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association · 2024Article
- Recruitment and retention of adolescents for an ecological momentary assessment measurement burst mental health study: The MHIM engagement strategy.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Article
- Do delayed responses introduce bias in ecological momentary assessment? Evidence from comparisons between self-reported and objective physical activity.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Although the potential for participant selection bias is readily acknowledged in the momentary data collection literature, very little is known about uptake rates in these studies or about differences in the people that participate versus those who do not. This study analyzed data from an existing Internet panel of older people (age 50 and greater) who were offered participation into a momentary study (n = 3,169), which made it possible to compute uptake and to compare many characteristics of participation status. Momentary studies present participants with brief surveys multiple times a day over several days; these surveys ask about immediate or recent experiences. A 29.1% uptake rate was observed when all respondents were considered, whereas a 39.2% uptake rate was found when individuals who did not have eligible smartphones (necessary for ambulatory data collection) were eliminated from the analyses. Taking into account the participation rate for being in this Internet panel, we estimate uptake rates for the general population to be about 5%. A consistent pattern of differences emerged between those who accepted the invitation to participate versus those who did not (in univariate analyses): participants were more likely to be female, younger, have higher income, have higher levels of education, rate their health as better, be employed, not be retired, not be disabled, have better self-rated computer skills, and to have participated in more prior Internet surveys (all p < .0026). Many variables were not associated with uptake including race, big five personality scores, and subjective well-being. For several of the predictors, the magnitude of the effects on uptake was substantial. These results indicate the possibility that, depending upon the associations being investigated, person selection bias could be present in momentary data collection studies.
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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.