A New Remote Guided Method for Supervised Web-Based Cognitive Testing to Ensure High-Quality Data: Development and Usability Study.
J Med Internet Res
; 24(1): e28368, 2022 01 06.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34989691
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The global COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a fundamental reexamination of how human psychological research can be conducted safely and robustly in a new era of digital working and physical distancing. Online web-based testing has risen to the forefront as a promising solution for the rapid mass collection of cognitive data without requiring human contact. However, a long-standing debate exists over the data quality and validity of web-based studies. This study examines the opportunities and challenges afforded by the societal shift toward web-based testing and highlights an urgent need to establish a standard data quality assurance framework for online studies.OBJECTIVE:
This study aims to develop and validate a new supervised online testing methodology, remote guided testing (RGT).METHODS:
A total of 85 healthy young adults were tested on 10 cognitive tasks assessing executive functioning (flexibility, memory, and inhibition) and learning. Tasks were administered either face-to-face in the laboratory (n=41) or online using remote guided testing (n=44) and delivered using identical web-based platforms (Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery, Inquisit, and i-ABC). Data quality was assessed using detailed trial-level measures (missed trials, outlying and excluded responses, and response times) and overall task performance measures.RESULTS:
The results indicated that, across all data quality and performance measures, RGT data was statistically-equivalent to in-person data collected in the lab (P>.40 for all comparisons). Moreover, RGT participants out-performed the lab group on measured verbal intelligence (P<.001), which could reflect test environment differences, including possible effects of mask-wearing on communication.CONCLUSIONS:
These data suggest that the RGT methodology could help ameliorate concerns regarding online data quality-particularly for studies involving high-risk or rare cohorts-and offer an alternative for collecting high-quality human cognitive data without requiring in-person physical attendance.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pandemics
/
COVID-19
Limits:
Adult
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
J Med Internet Res
Journal subject:
INFORMATICA MEDICA
Year:
2022
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Singapore