International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

The term “online research” refers to two different concepts which are often confused: (1) applying online methods in social research, and (2) social research of online phenomena. The first part of this entry sketches the most important empirical methods and their online version. The second part briefly illustrates how selected online phenomena or research questions can be methodically addressed. Many traditional methods in communication studies have been successfully transferred and adapted to the → Internet as a research tool (→ Interview ; Interview, Qualitative ; Interview, Standardized ; Experiment, Field ; Experiment, Laboratory ; Observation ). Only a few online methods are completely new developments (e.g., Internet data mining with robots or search engines). The traditional methods of quantitative surveys are face-to-face interviews, (computer-assisted) telephone interviews, and self-administered questionnaires (paper and pencil), either disseminated via mail or administered in groups that are present (e.g., students on university courses). Online surveys apply self-administered questionnaires, which are usually presented as a series of web pages including questions, items, and answering options. Two basic strategies are used to establish contact between a questionnaire and potential participants: hyperlinks or unexpected “pop-up” windows on websites announcing a ... log in or subscribe to read full text