Internet Research

Internet research is the practice of using the Internet, especially the World Wide Web, for research. To the extent that the Internet is widely and readily accessible to hundreds of millions of people in many parts of the world, it can provide practically instant information on most topics, and is having a profound impact on the way in which ideas are formed and knowledge is creat4ed.

Research is a broad term. Here, it is used to mean "looking something up (on the Web)". It includes any activity where a topic is identified, and an effort is made to actively gather information for the purpose of furthering understanding. Common applications of Internet research include personal research on a particular subject (something mentioned on the news, a health problem, etc), students doing research for academic projects and papers, and journalists and other writers researching stories. It should be distinguished from scientific research - research following a defined and rigorous process - carried out on the Internet; from straightforward finding of specific info, like locating a name or phone number; and from research about the Internet.

Compared to the Internet, print physically limits access to information. A book has to be identified, and then actually obtained. On the Net, the Web can be searched, and typically hundreds or thousands of pages can be found with some relation to the topic, within seconds. In addition, email (including mailing lists), online discussion forums (aka message boards, BBS's), and other personal communication facilities (instant messaging, IRC, newsgroups, etc) can provide direct access to experts and other individuals with relevant interests and knowledge. However, difficulties persist in verifying a writer's credentials, and therefore the accuracy or pertinence of the information obtained.

Further difficulties in internet research center around search tool bias and whether the searcher has sufficient skill to draw meaningful results from the abundance of material typically available. The first resources retrieved may not be the most suitable resources to answer a particular question. For example, prominence is often a factor used in structuring internet search results but prominent information often gives a biased view of controversial issues.


Advantages and Disadvantages of Internet Research

What are the advantages of doing internet research?
Ability to obtain a large sample, which increases statistical power
Ability to obtain a more diverse sample than in traditional university-based research
Prevents experimenter demand effects (with no interaction with the experimenter, no "experimenter expectancy" effect)
Data is automatically coded so no data entry errors
Can sample individuals beyond your schools subject pool
Reduced cost of conducting research

What are the disadvantages of doing internet research? (and tips to overcome them)
Some subjects may try to participant in the same study more than once
1. To overcome this problem, you can ask for the email addresses of each participant, and then look for duplicates.
2. Since nowadays its easy for people to create multiple email addresses, you can also ask for name and/or address of each subject. Sometimes researchers will have a "lottery" as incentive to participate (e.g., $100 lottery prize for each 400 participants), so asking for name/address is necessary to award the lottery check.
3. You can also collect the IP address of each participant and look for duplicates. One issue here is that sometimes DSL providers give the same IP address to multiple people.
Some subjects may drop out of the study before finishing
1. In traditional laboratory-based research its unusual for a subject to walk out of a study, but online a subject can get distracted or simply lose interest and end the study. Sometimes researchers will have a "lottery" as incentive to have the subject participate in the study, but with any type of monetary incentive IRB's typically require a statement in the consent form saying something to the effect of "you may discontinue participation at any time without any consequences or losing your entry in the lottery."
2. Since a certain number of online subjects wont finish the study, you can overcollect the number of subjects you think you need to offset the number of subjects who dont finish the study, usually around 10-20%.
Some subjects may stop the study and then continue minutes/hours later
1. The problem here is that some studies involve manipulations which may lose power if there is a time lag between the manipulation and measures in the study. One advantage of online studies is that you can record how long the subject is taking part in the study, so you can identify the average length of time of your study, and also identify those subjects who take an extraordinary long amount of time to finish the study.
Some subjects may rush through the study
1. Since you can record how long each subject is participating in the study, you can identify those subjects who may have rushed through the study.
How do I get subjects for my online study?
1. There is no single answer to this question and you may have to try a number of things before you find something that works for your study, depending on the subject matter and incentives you are offering. See How to recruit subjects online? for an ongoing discussion of subject recruitment.