From the Lab to the Net
March 19, 2007 - Aaron Baca
Who says you need a big lab to do science?
Associate professor of nursing Margaret Moloney, in what could be a new direction for conducting research, is shucking the confines of traditional clinics and laboratories and is instead taking her research to the Internet.
"We're taking advantage of what's becoming an accepted medium of communication to create a wonderfully diverse study group," Moloney says, explaining why she opted to take her newest study about migraine headaches online.
Moloney launched a two-year study last fall of suspected triggers that may cause migraine headaches within some groups of women. She says she wants to find ways to predict and relieve the severity of the headaches.
At first, Moloney says she did things entirely by the book of tried-and-true research methodology. "It was all in-person, on paper and in the clinic," Moloney says.
The Internet became Moloney’s lab of choice after she overheard one of her study participants quip about busy schedules conflicting with research surveys back in the days of paper and clipboards.
"This woman told me, 'If you put this thing online a lot more of us could participate.' I just thought: That makes total sense, doesn't it?" Moloney says.
The Internet, however, isn't for everyone. Traditional biology and chemistry labs won’t be replaced with online versions anytime soon. But for other investigations dependent on surveys and the subjective opinions of study participants, the Internet makes perfect sense.
The medium was lauded, with some caution, four years ago in an article by Ulf-Dietrich Reips for Experimental Psychology. "We are in the midst of an Internet revolution," Reips wrote, urging the development of reliable research standards.
Moloney has teamed with an associate from Emory University and the two have compiled a protocol for conducting Internet-based research.
In her latest project, Moloney hopes to study approximately 100 women between the ages of 18 and 55. For several months over two years, the women will chronicle their migraine headaches and symptoms in an online journal that they access through a secured Internet connection. Data is collected and compiled automatically from the online journals.
Prior to joining the study, the women have been heavily screened. Throughout their participation, mechanisms are in place to verify the authenticity of journal entries.