PTOtherJournal of physical therapy science2017

Difference between tablet methods and paper questionnaire methods of conducting a survey with community-dwelling elderly.

Yasuaki Kusumoto, Yoshihiro Kita, Satomi Kusaka and 7 others

PMID 29643583

WHAT IT FOUND

Older adults answered survey questions in similar time on a tablet or paper, but more tablet users had questions.

Entering the data took 426 seconds for the tablet group and 1,268 seconds for the paper group.

Key findings

01Assessor data entry took 426 seconds for the tablet group and 1,268 seconds for the questionnaire group.

02Response time averaged 155.2 seconds on tablet and 144.4 seconds on paper, with no significant difference.

0313 tablet users had queries regarding the survey, compared with 3 questionnaire users.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they found

Read the rest of this summary

You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.

Already have one?

What it does not show

Only 30 people were tested, and they came from Ohota-ku, Tokyo, Japan. The authors noted that some participants may have had mild cognitive impairment because MoCA-J scores were below the cut-off of 26 points. The assessors were not given an explanation of the study and were told only to input data quickly. The study measured response time, queries, data input time, and tablet operability.

The easy way to misread this

Do not read the faster data entry time as proof that tablets are better for all older adults. Only 30 people were tested, and more tablet users had questions about the survey.

Read it on PubMed →