Questionnaire surveys of dentists on radiology

Abstract

Objectives: Survey by questionnaire is a widely used research method in dental radiology. A major concern in reviews of questionnaires is non-response. The objectives of this study were to review questionnaire studies in dental radiology with regard to potential survey errors and to develop recommendations to assist future researchers. Methods: A literature search with the software search package PubMed was used to obtain internet-based access to Medline through the website www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed. A search of the English language peer-reviewed literature was conducted of all published studies, with no restriction on date. The search strategy found articles with dates from 1983 to 2010. The medical subject heading terms used were ''questionnaire'', ''dental radiology'' and ''dental radiography''. The reference sections of articles retrieved by this method were hand-searched in order to identify further relevant papers. Reviews, commentaries and relevant studies from the wider literature were also included. Results: 53 questionnaire studies were identified in the dental literature that concerned dental radiography and included a report of response rate. These were all published between 1983 and 2010. In total, 87 articles are referred to in this review, including the 53 dental radiology studies. Other cited articles include reviews, commentaries and examples of studies outside dental radiology where they are germane to the arguments presented. Conclusions: Non-response is only one of four broad areas of error to which questionnaire surveys are subject. This review considers coverage, sampling and measurement, as well as non-response. Recommendations are made to assist future research that uses questionnaire surveys.

Survey Methods to Optimize Response Rate in the National Dental Practice–Based Research Network

“…This is especially challenging in the current era of information overload. As stated above, few surveys of health-care providers have obtained response rates above 70% (reviews: Flanigan, McFarlane, & Cook, 2008; McLeod et al, 2013; Shelley et al, 2012; VanGeest et al, 2007). The Medical Expenditure Provider surveys, Medical Provider Component, have achieved 80–95% response depending on provider type from the 2006 survey (Stagnitti, Beauregard, & Solis, 2008); however, these are follow-up surveys to providers of patients who participated, conducted primarily by telephone.…”

Direct access: how is it working?

“…[12][13][14][15][16] It is possible that monetary incentives and/or telephone follow-up may have increased the response rate further, but these options were ruled out on resource grounds. 17,18 The initial August 2015 search identified almost 250 individuals working in direct access practices.…”

A questionnaire study to investigate custom and practice of imaging methods for the anterior region of the mandible prior to dental implant placement

“…10 A web-based questionnaire was developed to present two fictional, but realistic, clinical scenarios to respondents. Both scenarios were of edentulous patients for whom implant-retained lower complete dentures were planned.…”

“…A previous study suggested that a realistic response rate for a sample of this size would be some 80%. 10 Therefore, the target sample size was adjusted to allow for an 80% response rate giving a final sample size of 169. This sample was selected from the sample frame using a random number generator.…”