Comparing Face-to-Face and Online Data Collection Methods in Preterm and Full-Term Children: An Exploratory Study

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Research Methodology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted traditional in-person data collection in developmental psychology.
• Online data collection methods have been proposed, but empirical comparisons to face-to-face methods are lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of online data collection by comparing children's performance on cognitive tasks in online versus face-to-face formats.
• To explore the impact of parent involvement on children's performance in online assessments.
• To examine if the format's effect differs for preterm children.

Main Methods:

• Administered a battery of cognitive assessments (verbal comprehension, fluid reasoning, visual-spatial, working memory, attention, executive functioning, social perception, numerical skills) to 4- to 5-year-old children.
• Compared performance between children who completed assessments online and those who completed them face-to-face.
• Analyzed the role of parent involvement and considered children born preterm.

Main Results:

• No reliable performance differences were found between online and face-to-face formats for five out of eight cognitive tasks.
• Parent involvement did not significantly affect children's performance in the online format.
• Exploratory analyses indicated that the format did not differentially affect children at risk, including preterm infants.

Conclusions:

• Online data collection is a viable alternative for developmental psychology research, maintaining data integrity for many cognitive assessments.
• The findings support the continued use and development of online methodologies to overcome pandemic-related disruptions and enhance research accessibility.
• Future research should continue to validate online methods across diverse populations and cognitive domains.