Questionnaire Troubleshooting
Why do you need to complete your questionnaires?
The outcome of the POLARiS study is dependent on receiving completed questionnaires from our participants. Therefore, it is really important that you complete your questionnaires on time, and complete them to the best of your ability.
Need help completing your questionnaires?
See below for some common problems that have come up when completing questionnaires, and how to try and resolve them. If the below suggestions do not work, or you have further questions, please contact your doctor or nurse.
I don’t understand the questions?
If you are struggling to understand the questions, please contact your doctor or nurse and ask them to explain them to you.
My contact details have changed – who do I tell?
If you have changed address, phone number, or email address, please contact your doctor or nurse.
You can also ask them if you wish to change the way you complete questionnaires. The options are by a paper questionnaire which is sent via the post, or by an electronic questionnaire, with a link emailed or texted to you.
Please do not email the POLARIS email, or write on paper questionnaires, as we are supposed to get that information from your doctors, not from you directly.
My health has changed or has impacted my answers – who do I tell?
Please do not email us, or write on paper questionnaires, as we are not supposed to get extra personal information about your health directly from you. We are only supposed to know the information the doctors or nurse collect for the study.
If you feel your health has changed for better or worse, or that it has improved, we will learn about this in your questionnaire answers, and from the information collected at study visits. The doctors and nurses at your hospital don’t see your responses to the questionnaires you complete on POLARiS so if you have any health concerns, please contact your doctor or nurse.
I don’t want to complete questionnaires anymore – who do I tell?
Please contact your doctor or nurse to discuss your participation in the study. There may be a way for you to still take part without having to complete the questionnaires. Please do not email us directly, or write on paper questionnaires, as we are supposed to get that information from your doctors, not from you directly. There may be some reasons you would like to stop completing questionnaires, and you can always withdraw at any time but please discuss with your doctor or nurse first. LARS symptoms can change over time and completing questionnaires helps us capture this. If we can still collect your answers, it is really important for the study.
My electronic link won’t work – what can I do?
If a questionnaire link doesn’t work, please try the following:
- Click the link on another device. The forms are optimised for mobile phones, laptops, and PC’s, so if you have an alternative device try using this.
- Copy the link directly into the address field of your internet browser.
- If you using are a laptop or PC, hold down the ‘Ctrl’ button when clicking on the link.
- Email the CTRU and we will send out another copy of the link.
I have posted back a questionnaire but I have still got a reminder?
The questionnaires can take some time to get back to us via post. Our system automatically sends a reminder after 14days, so if we haven’t received the post yet, you will still get a reminder. If you are sure you posted one back, you don’t need to complete the reminder questionnaire.
Why are the questions the same each time?
We ask you the same questions each time you complete a questionnaire so we can compare your answers over time.
Why is the 9, 15, 18, and 21 month questionnaire shorter?
We collect the LARS score (the short questionnaire) at every time point. At 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 months we ask you to complete the LARS questionnaire and some extra questions, which is why these are longer booklets.
I think you should change the questionnaires, or add in more questions so I can tell you more about my health – why can’t you do this?
Our questionnaires are not written by the trials unit. They have been written by other researchers and have been validated for use in this area of research. Validation means we can ensure the questions asked are accurate to help answer our research. This means we can’t add questions, or change the way they are worded. Other medical information will be collected at other study timepoints, such as when you have clinic visits or phone calls.