title: Systematic review of the use of online questionnaires of older adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe methodological approaches to population targeting and sampling and to summarize limitations of Internet-based questionnaires in older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Systematic literature review.
  
  
  METHODS
  Studies using online questionnaires in older adult populations.
  
  
  METHODS
  English-language articles using search terms for geriatric, age 65 and over, Internet survey, online survey, Internet questionnaire, and online questionnaire in PubMed and EBSCO host between 1984 and July 2012. Inclusion criteria were study population mean age 65 and older and use of an online questionnaire for research. Review of 336 abstracts yielded 14 articles for full review by two investigators; 11 articles met inclusion criteria.
  
  
  METHODS
  Articles were extracted for study design and setting, participant characteristics, recruitment strategy, country, and study limitations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eleven articles were published after 2001. Studies had populations with a mean age of 65 to 78, included descriptive and analytical designs, and were conducted in the United States, Australia, and Japan. Recruiting methods varied widely from paper fliers and personal e-mails to use of consumer marketing panels. Investigator-reported study limitations included the use of small convenience samples and limited generalizability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Online questionnaires are a feasible method of surveying older adults in some geographic regions and for some subsets of older adults, but limited Internet access constrains recruiting methods and often limits study generalizability.
authors.affiliation: University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Meegan L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Remillard
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Mazor
authors.forename: Sarah L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Cutrona
authors.forename: Jerry H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Gurwitz
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tjia
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D020407:Internet
keywords: Internet; geriatric; online; questionnaire; survey