title: The use of the Internet in collecting CDI data--an example from Norway.
abstract: This article presents the methodology used in a population-based study of early communicative development in Norwegian children using an adaptation of the MacArthur-Bates communicative development inventories (CDI), comprising approximately 6500 children aged between 0.8 and 3.0. To our knowledge, this is the first CDI study collecting data via the Internet. After a short description of the procedures used in adapting the CDI to Norwegian and the selection of participants, we discuss the advantages and potential pitfalls of using web-based forms as a method of data collection. We found that use of web-based forms was far less time-consuming, and therefore also far less expensive than the traditional paper-based forms. The risk of coding errors was virtually eliminated with this method. We conclude that in a society with high access to the Internet, this is a method well worth pursuing.
authors.affiliation: University of Oslo, Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies, Norway. k.e.kristoffersen@iln.uio.no
authors.forename: Kristian E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Kristoffersen
authors.forename: Hanne Gram
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Simonsen
authors.forename: Dorthe
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bleses
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wehberg
authors.forename: Rune Nørgård
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Jørgensen
authors.forename: Eli Anne
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Eiesland
authors.forename: Laila Yvonne
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Henriksen
mesh_terms: D002663:Child Language; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D020407:Internet; D008037:Linguistics; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway; D010290:Parents; D014825:Vocabulary