Methods: 101 individuals were purposively sampled from one large UK University. Participants were asked to complete a text survey each afternoon, and an online electronic diary each evening, every day for two weeks. Diaries collected information on participants’ pain and functional experiences, coping, mood and appraisal. Participants’ feedback and the experiences of the research team were utilised to evaluate this data collection method.
Results: The majority of participants (N=83) reported that completing the text survey mid-afternoon aided the recall of their pain experience. Of those individuals who completed the electronic diary before 10am the following day, only four participants found the surveys ‘difficult’ to complete. However, as response times increased more participants reported difficulty recalling their experiences (N=12). Interestingly, just under half of participants (N=43) felt that taking part in the study had changed their experience of dentine hypersensitivity. The response rate for daily diaries remained over 97% throughout the study and low levels of missing data were recorded. However, electronic diaries were found to be time intensive, costly and provided complex data sets requiring advanced statistical knowledge.
Conclusion: The advantages and disadvantages of using text surveys and electronic diaries to capture individuals’ health-related experiences in oral health research are discussed.