Table 1.

Key factors to consider when validating assessments for remote research.

Factors	Limitations	Advantages
Absence of rater or supervision	The researcher cannot observe participants to determine whether participants are incapacitated, disengaged, or require clarification and intervene if necessary [46].	Participants may be less influenced by social facilitation or impairment and behave more naturally [47].
No central testing location and testing can occur at unspecified times	There may be a higher likelihood of distractions during data collection [48]. The sample might be biased toward individuals with technology and internet access and technology proficiency [1,39,48,49].	Being outside of the laboratory or clinic may reduce evaluation apprehension and cause participants to behave more naturally [50]. Depending on the study design, participants may be reporting on behaviors, mood states, etc when and where they naturally occur [3]. Participation in the study is accessible to individuals who are unwilling or unable to travel to a central testing location or to be tested in person [1,48].
Differences in device, computer hardware, software, processing speed, screen resolution, display characteristics, internet connection, and response input method	May bias stimulus presentation and response measures, especially reaction time [1,40,45,48,51,52] Differences in the ownership of certain devices (eg, smartphones) may be patterned by sociodemographic factors [53].	Having participants use their personal devices to input data may reduce study costs (devices do not need to be purchased and supplied to participants). In addition, the use of a familiar device may improve performance and compliance [54].