Using Military Screening Questions to Anonymously Recruit Post-9/11 Era Service Members and Veterans Using Online...

The ability to collect data on posttraumatic reactions following military sexual trauma is impacted by data collection methods, such that under-reporting can occur when data are believed to be identifiable. This may be especially true for topics that are sensitive, including sexual trauma. Ensuring participation from service members using non-identifiable methods is challenging when service history cannot be confirmed. The COVID-19 pandemic complicated data collection due to contact and social distancing requirements and limitations. To attempt to overcome these challenges, this study utilized an anonymous survey delivered by Qualtrics, Inc. with military validation checks that served as a screening mechanism. The purpose of the current report is to describe the development and use of military validation questions to recruit a sample of military sexual assault survivors using an anonymous survey.

Qualtrics, Inc., a data collection software company, was contracted to collect data on military service members and veterans who reported military sexual assault. We developed and piloted four validation checks regarding military knowledge, which had to be answered correctly before participants could engage in the survey. This information was common to those who have served but uncommon to civilians, ensuring, to the best of our ability, that those responding were or had been service members. An incorrect response to any of the validation checks resulted in termination from the study. The probability of guessing correctly all four items was 0.16%.

The current study collected data on 200 women and 200 men, all of whom reported military sexual assault. Data collection took approximately 6 weeks to complete. The validation checks resulted in screening out 1,450 potential participants who provided fraudulent responses. The average cost per participant, which included recruitment costs and participant payment, was $20. Given the histories of military sexual assault, the cohort reported high rates of probable positive screens for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicide risk, and moderately severe depression, as well as other interpersonal challenges that are typically reported by those exposed to sexual assault, suggesting our validation checks were effective in recruiting the desired sample. Though not an original goal of our recruitment efforts, 9.75% (n = 39) of our sample identified as a sexual orientation other than heterosexual, including gay, bisexual, questioning, or "other."

Use of Qualtrics, Inc. to incorporate validation checks helped us to be more reasonably confident that we were collecting data from military service members who reported military sexual assault. While the probability of a person without current or past military service passing the validation checks was low, it was not impossible. An unanticipated benefit of this platform was the short duration of time it took to complete data collection; the sample was collected within about 6 weeks. This platform may be a good option for investigators who cannot collect face-to-face data.