We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Mechanical Turk data collection in addiction research: utility, concerns and best practices.
- Authors
Mellis, Alexandra M.; Bickel, Warren K.
- Abstract
Aims: Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) provides a crowdsourcing platform for the engagement of potential research participants with data collection instruments. This review (1) provides an introduction to the mechanics and validity of MTurk research; (2) gives examples of MTurk research; and (3) discusses current limitations and best practices in MTurk research. Methods: We review four use cases of MTurk for research relevant to addictions: (1) the development of novel measures, (2) testing interventions, (3) the collection of longitudinal use data to determine the feasibility of longer‐term studies of substance use and (4) the completion of large batteries of assessments to characterize the relationships between measured constructs. We review concerns with the platform, ways of mitigating these and important information to include when presenting findings. Results: MTurk has proved to be a useful source of data for behavioral science more broadly, with specific applications to addiction science. However, it is still not appropriate for all use cases, such as population‐level inference. To live up to the potential of highly transparent, reproducible science from MTurk, researchers should clearly report inclusion/exclusion criteria, data quality checks and reasons for excluding collected data, how and when data were collected and both targeted and actual participant compensation. Conclusions: Although on‐line survey research is not a substitute for random sampling or clinical recruitment, the Mechanical Turk community of both participants and researchers has developed multiple tools to promote data quality, fairness and rigor. Overall, Mechanical Turk has provided a useful source of convenience samples despite its limitations and has demonstrated utility in the engagement of relevant groups for addiction science.
- Subjects
DRUG addiction; CROWDSOURCING; BEHAVIORAL research; MEDICAL research; ACQUISITION of data; RESEARCH methodology evaluation
- Publication
Addiction, 2020, Vol 115, Issue 10, p1960
- ISSN
0965-2140
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/add.15032