A comparison of tablet computer and paper-based questionnaires in healthy aging research

Abstract

Background: Digital questionnaire delivery offers many advantages to investigators and participants alike; however, evidence supporting digital questionnaire delivery via touchscreen device in the older adult population is lacking. Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the use of tablet computer-delivered and printed questionnaires as vehicles for the collection of psychosocial data from older adults to determine whether this digital platform would be readily adopted by the sample, and to identify whether tablet delivery influences the content of data received. Methods: The participants completed three questionnaires using both delivery methods, followed by a brief evaluation. Results: A nonparametric one-sample binomial test indicated a significantly greater proportion of individuals preferred the tablet-delivered questionnaires (z=4.96, SE 3.428, P