Novel and emerging strategies for longitudinal data collection

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Digital Health
• Research Methodology

Background:

• Traditional methods for longitudinal data collection include telephone interviews, postal mail, and online questionnaires.
• Technological advancements have introduced novel strategies for collecting data over time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and describe innovative and emerging strategies for improving longitudinal data collection in research.
• To explore the impact of these novel methods on participant response rates, timeliness, and cost.

Main Methods:

• A review of existing literature on traditional and novel longitudinal data collection strategies.
• Detailed exploration of emerging methods such as two-way short message service, smartphone applications, electronic medical record retrieval, and cloud interfaces.

Main Results:

• Novel strategies offer valuable approaches for collecting longitudinal research data.
• These methods can enhance participant response rates and the timeliness of data collection.

Conclusions:

• Emerging longitudinal data collection strategies are crucial for advancing healthcare research, particularly nursing research.
• Researchers should consider adopting these novel approaches to improve data collection and foster research efforts.