Survey Fraud and the Integrity of Web-Based Survey Research

Compared to traditional paper surveys, online surveys offer a convenient, efficient, and socially distant way to conduct human subjects research. The popularity of online research has grown in recent decades. However, without proper precautions, false respondents pose a serious risk to data integrity. In this paper, we describe our research team's own encounter with survey fraud, steps taken to preserve the integrity of our study, and implications for future public health research.