Table 1.

Comparison between the American Association of Public Opinion Research’s (AAPOR) criteria [31] for a general survey and the features of a Web health monitoring survey (WHMS).

	AAPOR survey criteria	Features of a WHMS
Points better addressed by a WHMS	Have specific goals.	Have specific goals.
	Consider alternatives.	Consider alternatives.
	Take great care in matching question wording to the concepts being measured and the population studied.	Easier than in other fields of research. More attention to question wording in different languages or contexts.
	Maximize cooperation or response rates within the limits of ethical treatment of human subjects.	Patients are strictly involved and their active role in the monitoring system can stimulate a high participation rate, a high response rate, and a low item nonresponse rate. The patient AND the patient’s relatives or caregivers can have more positive feelings in participating in the survey.
Points easily respected by a WHMS	Select samples that well represent the population to be studied	The sample is not probabilistic, rather it resembles an opt-in one.
	Use designs that balance costs with errors.	Use designs that balance costs with errors.
	Pretest questionnaires and procedures.	Pretest questionnaires and procedures.
	Train interviewers carefully on interviewing techniques and the subject matter of the survey.	Train and supervise patients (and doctors).
	Use appropriate statistical analytic and reporting techniques.	Use appropriate statistical analytic and reporting techniques.
	Develop and fulfill pledges of confidentiality given to respondents.	Develop and fulfill pledges of confidentiality given to respondents.
	Disclose all methods of the survey to allow for evaluation and replication.	Disclose all methods of the survey to allow for evaluation and replication.
Point to be studied for a WHMS	Check quality at each stage.	New indicators and metrics are required.