Safeguarding Online Research in Eating Disorders Against Fraud: Increasing Risks and Practical Recommendations.
Objective: Recent growth of online research has been accompanied by an increase in reports of fraudulent participants, which can significantly comprise research validity. Drawing from our experience using Qualtrics with open recruitment, existing literature, and emerging studies in eating disorders...
| Publicado en: | International Journal of Eating Disorders Vol. 59; no. 7; pp. 1451 - 1469 |
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| Autores principales: | , , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
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Wiley-Blackwell
Jul2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=195039067&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 195039067 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 02763478 IJD jtl: International Journal of Eating Disorders issn: 02763478 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jul2026 vid: 59 iid: 7 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell artinfo: ui: 195039067 10.1002/eat.70083 ppf: 1451 ppct: 18 formats: tig: atl: Safeguarding Online Research in Eating Disorders Against Fraud: Increasing Risks and Practical Recommendations. aug: au: Pennesi, Jamie‐Lee Pellizzer, Mia L. Wade, Tracey D. affil: Flinders University Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing and Blackbird Initiative, Flinders University, Adelaide South Australia, , Australia su: Consensus (Social sciences) Qualitative research Human research subjects Artificial intelligence Internet Eating disorders Medical research Fraud prevention Patient selection Research funding Surveys Acquisition of data Delphi method Data analysis software sug: subj: Consensus (Social sciences) Qualitative research Human research subjects Artificial intelligence Internet Eating disorders Medical research Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals Wired Telecommunications Carriers Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology) Fraud prevention Patient selection Research funding Surveys Acquisition of data Delphi method Data analysis software keyword: digital research eating disorders fraud fraudulent participants Internet research online research digital research eating disorders fraud fraudulent participants Internet research online research ab: Objective: Recent growth of online research has been accompanied by an increase in reports of fraudulent participants, which can significantly comprise research validity. Drawing from our experience using Qualtrics with open recruitment, existing literature, and emerging studies in eating disorders (ED), we outline the risk and provide simple, practical recommendations for preventing, detecting, and managing fraudulent participants in online ED research. Method: Over the conduct of a three‐round Delphi consensus study with 138 English‐speaking individuals aged 18 and older, we were inundated with fraudulent sign‐ups between July and August 2024, despite implementing multiple fraud prevention strategies. In response, we introduced additional fraud mitigation strategies and established a three‐step procedure for identifying and managing fraudulent participants. Results: The additional fraud mitigation measures, including a second reCAPTCHA, a duplicate question for consistency checks, and modified attention check questions, potentially aided in preventing further fraudulent sign‐ups. Our procedure involving manual comprehensive review of all incoming survey data and checks against a fraudulent participants' profile enabled us to identify and withdraw suspected or likely fraudulent participants. Discussion: With increasing fraudulent participation rates and rapidly advancing technological advancements such as artificial intelligence, all online studies are at risk and researchers need to be proactive in their use of antifraud practices to safeguard online research. Our practical recommendations can assist future researchers in managing fraudulent participants. Summary: Fraudulent participation in online research is rising rapidly and presents a significant threat to research integrity.All online studies are at risk and researchers must adopt proactive antifraud practices to safeguard data quality.We provide straightforward, practical recommendations for preventing, detecting, and managing fraudulent participation in online research. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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