serval:BIB_D8C1AFE3A8F0
Does Self-Selection Affect Samples' Representativeness in Online Surveys? An Investigation in Online Video Game Research
10.2196/jmir.2759
000338715500004
25001007
http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/25001007
Khazaal
Yasser
author
van Singer
Mathias
author
Chatton
Anne
author
Achab
Sophia
author
Zullino
Daniele
author
Rothen
Stephane
author
Khan
Riaz
author
Billieux
Joel
author
Thorens
Gabriel
author
article
2014
Journal of Medical Internet Research
1438-8871
journal
16
7
e164
Background: The number of medical studies performed through online surveys has increased dramatically in recent years.
Despite their numerous advantages (eg, sample size, facilitated access to individuals presenting stigmatizing issues), selection
bias may exist in online surveys. However, evidence on the representativeness of self-selected samples in online studies is patchy.
Objective: Our objective was to explore the representativeness of a self-selected sample of online gamers using online players’
virtual characters (avatars).
Methods: All avatars belonged to individuals playing World of Warcraft (WoW), currently the most widely used online game.
Avatars’ characteristics were defined using various games’ scores, reported on the WoW’s official website, and two self-selected
samples from previous studies were compared with a randomly selected sample of avatars.
Results: We used scores linked to 1240 avatars (762 from the self-selected samples and 478 from the random sample). The two
self-selected samples of avatars had higher scores on most of the assessed variables (except for guild membership and exploration).
Furthermore, some guilds were overrepresented in the self-selected samples.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that more proficient players or players more involved in the game may be more likely to
participate in online surveys. Caution is needed in the interpretation of studies based on online surveys that used a self-selection
recruitment procedure. Epidemiological evidence on the reduced representativeness of sample of online surveys is warranted
Health Informatics
Internet
bias
online survey
self-selection
random sample
World of Warcraft
massively multiplayer online role-playing
eng
60_published
true
peer-reviewed
University of Lausanne
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