Table 9.

Strengths and weaknesses of research methods for teleworking.

	Surveys/interviews/diaries	Modelling/simulation	Secondary data analysis	Field study
Strengths	•Can be used to measure attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs •Can be used to understand causal directionality and rationales •Can be used to understand household relationships	•Possible to explore many scenarios at multi-scale - temporal and spatial – with fast results •Low-cost and no participant recruitment challenges	•Large sample •Low/no-cost to researcher	•Detailed and direct measurements
Weaknesses	•Subject to self-reporting error and bias •Focused on the individual teleworker •May be difficult to study longitudinal effects.	•Difficult to capture complex decision-making processes •Limited to the quality and accuracy of the underlying models •May lack credibility because of the above	•Limited study scope (i.e., researcher does not design research) •Definition of telework may be problematic/vague •May be subject to self-reporting error and bias (as for surveys)	•Potentially costly and labor-intensive for participant recruitment and equipment.