HMS, HIC EQ-Bank 66

Evaluation Statement

• Online surveys with fixed responses prove partially effective for researching adolescent health experiences.
• This evaluation examines validity, reliability and credibility of a study using online surveys with multiple-choice and rating scale questions.

Validity

• The method partially fulfils validity requirements for capturing complex health experiences.
• The research involves a method that can gather large samples quickly.
• However, predetermined response options fail to capture nuanced adolescent perspectives, especially for subjective concepts like mental wellbeing.
• While strong in measuring basic activity levels through quantifiable data, it proves less suitable for exploring personal health experiences that involve deeper meanings.

Reliability

• The survey approach inadequately fulfils reliability standards without proper testing and diverse sampling.
• A lack of pilot testing increases the risk of inconsistent question interpretation across age groups.
• Also, without demographic information about participants, findings cannot reliably apply to all adolescents.

Credibility

• Single-method data collection severely limits credibility of findings.
• Online surveys alone prove insufficient for understanding lived experiences of adolescents.
• A critical weakness is relying solely on quantitative data when health experiences require qualitative exploration.
• Evidence shows mixed methods combining surveys with interviews produce superior insights.

Final Evaluation

• Weighing these factors, the data collection method described provides limited insight into adolescent health experiences.
• All three criteria reveal significant weaknesses in capturing complex teen health realities.
• The overall evaluation demonstrates urgent need for mixed methods approaches.
• Implications suggest researchers must combine quantitative surveys with qualitative interviews to achieve credible, valid and reliable understanding of adolescent wellbeing.