Table 1 Overview of methods under evaluation in this study
CE Interviews | Social Media Review | GCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
Type of data collected | Qualitative | Qualitative | Qualitative and quantitative |
Design of data collection method | Primary, prospective | Secondary, retrospectivea | Primary, prospective |
Depth of data collected | Deep, rich | Varies depending on platform | Shallow |
Breadth of data collected | Specific to study aims | Broad | Narrow |
Ability to probe and explore new areas of interest | High - interviewer interacts with subject, facilitates discussion and probes around key areas of interest | Medium - dependent on existing data. If discussion not present in SM thread, cannot probe further | Low – only pose one or two questions (or prompts) and responses are dependent on the quality of the prompt and the instructions to subjects |
Availability of clinical/background data | High – although depends on recruitment approach | Low | High – although depends on recruitment approach |
Ability to confirm diagnosis | High – although depends on recruitment approach | Medium (typically self-confirmed diagnosis only) | High – although depends on recruitment approach |
Level of burden on subjects | High | Low | Low |
Level of burden on researcher | High | Low | Medium |
Time and cost burden | High | Low | Low |
Scientific acceptance/ best practice | High | Low | Mixed (widely applied in other fields but less so for outcomes research) |
Regulatory support | High | Mixed (depends on purpose of research) | Mixed (broadly supportive of mixed methods approaches that utilize online technologies) |