Integrity in Research and Scholarship
Abstract
Researchers have used the internet to collect data for over two decades. More recently, however, online research has become a target for fraudulent respondents, particularly when researchers offer monetary incentives for participation in a study. This guide will briefly outline the evolution of internet-based human subjects research, explore the current environment for online data collection from human participants, outline strategies for researchers and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to help minimize and identify fraudulent responses and protect data integrity in online surveys, and discuss the challenges of balancing data integrity with research participant welfare.
Publication Date
2026
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Document Type
Text
Recommended Citation
Simpson, Julie, "A Simple Guide for Researchers and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to Protect Data Integrity in Online Human Subjects Survey Research" (2026). Integrity in Research and Scholarship. 4.
https://scholars.unh.edu/research_integrity/4