The DORQ statement: digital online research using questionnaires-a structured methodological framework for digital...

Health Services and Global Health Research have relied heavily on digital/online survey-based data collection as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this approach will continue to be used in future research. Currently, however, these digital/online survey-based studies face numerous challenges in design (eg, sample size), methodological issues (eg, nonvalidated or poorly documented methodology), and transparency in data integrity (eg, threats to confidentiality). Existing reporting guidelines for digital/online survey-based studies offer several important points of guidance on research parameters; however, they do not provide an integrated structure that assists researchers in successfully linking the methodological stages and steps of the research process through to the manuscript reporting of the research results. To develop a structured methodological framework to support the design, conduct, and reporting of digital, online questionnaire-based studies, grounded in real-world research experience across diverse global contexts.

The creation of the Digital Online Research via Questionnaires (DORQ) framework was driven by a systematic process informed by extensive participant experience and an international, multidisciplinary working group that has collectively conducted numerous previous digital/online survey-based studies, during which numerous recurring methodological issues emerged. Each of these issues was systematically collated, analyzed, and organized into overarching methodological domains and translated into practical, actionable decision points. The resulting DORQ framework was refined by retrospectively applying these decision points to previously completed digital/online survey-based studies, thereby improving the validity and transparency of online survey implementation.

As the end-product of this process, the DORQ framework consists of a dual-use structure: (a) a checklist designed to help researchers develop and implement (DORQ-conduct checklist) digital/online survey-based studies, and (b) a manuscript-aligned reporting checklist (DORQ-reporting checklist) organized by standard paper sections. Each DORQ checklist aligns with the structure of traditional reports; thus, the two checklists share a common framework, ensuring that the conduct of the research and the resultant reports are transparent to users. The DORQ Framework identifies six major methodical decision points: (1) inference; (2) sampling; (3) equity; (4) consent/governance; (5) data integrity; and (6) reporting transparency. As such, the framework contributes to improving methodological defensibility, transparency, and reproducibility in online survey-based research.

The DORQ framework provides a foundational, ready-to-implement methodological resource to support research using digital/online survey questionnaires. The explicit linkage of research conduct to reporting, in conjunction with the inclusion of equity and integrity considerations in decision-making, is a new aspect of the existing reporting guidelines. The DORQ framework should support it as an effective remedial solution to recurring methodological issues in individual researchers' experience with digital survey research.