Letter to the Editor: A possible threat to data integrity for online qualitative autism research

Elizabeth Pellicano; Dawn Adams; Laura Crane; Calliope Hollingue; Connie Allen; Katherine Almendinger; Monique Botha; Tori Haar; Steven k Kapp; Elizabeth Wheeley

doi:10.1177/13623613231174543

Letter to the Editor: A possible threat to data integrity for online qualitative autism research

Elizabeth Pellicano^*, Dawn Adams, Laura Crane, Calliope Hollingue, Connie Allen, Katherine Almendinger, Monique Botha, Tori Haar, Steven k Kapp, Elizabeth Wheeley

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review

Abstract

Researchers are increasingly relying on online methods for data collection, including for qualitative research involving interviews and focus groups. In this letter, we alert autism researchers to a possible threat to data integrity in such studies: “scammer” participants, who may be posing as autistic people and/or parents of autistic children in research studies, presumably for financial gain. Here, we caution qualitative autism researchers to be vigilant of potential scammer participants in their online studies and invite a broader discussion about the implications of such fraudulent acts.

Original language	English
Journal	Autism
Early online date	22 May 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613231174543
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 22 May 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The studies on which this letter is based were supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT190100077) awarded to EP, a Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) from the Australian Government awarded to DA and EP (MRF201614), an Autism Intervention Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) Scholars & Pilot and Feasibility grant awarded to CH, and an Autism Science Foundation Suzanne Wright Memorial Research Accelerator Grant to CH. This latter project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the UT2MC39440 grant. The information, content and/or conclusions are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.

Keywords

fraud
imposter
research participation

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10.1177/13623613231174543

Cite this

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title = "Letter to the Editor: A possible threat to data integrity for online qualitative autism research",

abstract = "Researchers are increasingly relying on online methods for data collection, including for qualitative research involving interviews and focus groups. In this letter, we alert autism researchers to a possible threat to data integrity in such studies: “scammer” participants, who may be posing as autistic people and/or parents of autistic children in research studies, presumably for financial gain. Here, we caution qualitative autism researchers to be vigilant of potential scammer participants in their online studies and invite a broader discussion about the implications of such fraudulent acts.",

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author = "Elizabeth Pellicano and Dawn Adams and Laura Crane and Calliope Hollingue and Connie Allen and Katherine Almendinger and Monique Botha and Tori Haar and Kapp, {Steven k} and Elizabeth Wheeley",

note = "Funding: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The studies on which this letter is based were supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT190100077) awarded to EP, a Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) from the Australian Government awarded to DA and EP (MRF201614), an Autism Intervention Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) Scholars & Pilot and Feasibility grant awarded to CH, and an Autism Science Foundation Suzanne Wright Memorial Research Accelerator Grant to CH. This latter project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the UT2MC39440 grant. The information, content and/or conclusions are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.",

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AU - Pellicano, Elizabeth

AU - Adams, Dawn

AU - Crane, Laura

AU - Hollingue, Calliope

AU - Allen, Connie

AU - Almendinger, Katherine

AU - Botha, Monique

AU - Haar, Tori

AU - Kapp, Steven k

AU - Wheeley, Elizabeth

N1 - Funding: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The studies on which this letter is based were supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT190100077) awarded to EP, a Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) from the Australian Government awarded to DA and EP (MRF201614), an Autism Intervention Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) Scholars & Pilot and Feasibility grant awarded to CH, and an Autism Science Foundation Suzanne Wright Memorial Research Accelerator Grant to CH. This latter project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the UT2MC39440 grant. The information, content and/or conclusions are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.

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N2 - Researchers are increasingly relying on online methods for data collection, including for qualitative research involving interviews and focus groups. In this letter, we alert autism researchers to a possible threat to data integrity in such studies: “scammer” participants, who may be posing as autistic people and/or parents of autistic children in research studies, presumably for financial gain. Here, we caution qualitative autism researchers to be vigilant of potential scammer participants in their online studies and invite a broader discussion about the implications of such fraudulent acts.

AB - Researchers are increasingly relying on online methods for data collection, including for qualitative research involving interviews and focus groups. In this letter, we alert autism researchers to a possible threat to data integrity in such studies: “scammer” participants, who may be posing as autistic people and/or parents of autistic children in research studies, presumably for financial gain. Here, we caution qualitative autism researchers to be vigilant of potential scammer participants in their online studies and invite a broader discussion about the implications of such fraudulent acts.

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Letter to the Editor: A possible threat to data integrity for online qualitative autism research

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

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Cite this