How to view/hide data for a clinical sleep study?

[VV341]

Hello, 

I'm considering using fitbits for a clinical sleep study where we monitor participants natural sleep/wake patterns at home. We would like to be able to view their data while they're at home, so we can make sure the fitbit is being used properly and collecting the data we need.

I would wholeheartedly appreciate it if anyone could assist me with the following points!

1. We set up a research fitbit account for each person, and allow them to pair the fitbit with their smartphone so they can sync their data to the app while at home. If we log into the same account at the same time from our laboratory, are we able to see the data that has been synced to their app?

2. Is it possible to edit the app so that all sleep data is hidden from their view? It's fine if they can see their steps and other fitness-related data etc. We just want to hide the sleep data as it may interfere with the results of the study and hinder us in understanding how effective our treatment is.

Thank you very much in advance. Any clarification or assistance is greatly appreciated!

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Odyssey13]

Hi @VV341 short answers would be 1. yes and 2. no

In order for you to log into anyone's account, you would need their email address and password for Fitbit. Personally, I'd never agree to doing that and I know few people who would even consider it.

There is no way you can obscure the person's view of their sleep data. In many cases, that information is on their actual device, not just the Fitbit app dashboard. 

Might want to reconsider how you're going about this sleep study.

[m-umar]

@VV341I was wandering why you decided upon using smart watch for a scientific research/study. These are not scientifically tested and calibrated instruments.

Researchers mostly use the 95% confidence level couple with the confidence interval together to reach a conclusion. So 1st of all you need to consider/measure any device for this study against some control device for accuracy and consistency.

My background is in research and what I know about these smart watches they're not suited for any scientific study. Not even for qualitative study.

That is a general advice without knowing the set-up of your experiment, the variables & statistical method for data analysis involved.

Hope that helps.