Methodological Issues In Web‐based Research
- 1 March 2002
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Nursing Scholarship
- Vol. 34 (1) , 83-88
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1547-5069.2002.00083.x
Abstract
Purpose: To examine methodological issues associated with using the Internet and World Wide Web for scientific research, namely, issues related to the nature of the sample, the testing environment and environmental factors, privacy, and confidentiality, and response rates. Methods: Reviews of literature and personal observation and experience. Findings: Web‐based research provides many advantages such as access to specific, sometimes difficult‐to‐find populations, speed of data access, and decreased costs for data collection and data entry. Such benefits are likely to increase as more nurse scientists use the Web for research purposes. Conclusions: Nurse researchers who use this technology must consider the methodological problems associated with Web‐based methods. The research potential exists, but the methodological issues discussed in this paper are real and, if not addressed, they can seriously affect the validity of study findings.Keywords
This publication has 8 references indexed in Scilit:
- Using E-mail To Survey Internet Users In The United States: Methodology And AssessmentJournal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2006
- Introduction to psychological experiments on the internetPublished by Elsevier ,2000
- Social desirability, anonymity, and internet-based questionnairesBehavior Research Methods, Instruments & Computers, 1999
- Using the Internet for psychological research: Personality testing on the World Wide WebBritish Journal of Psychology, 1999
- Development of a Standard E-Mail Methodology: Results of an ExperimentPublic Opinion Quarterly, 1998
- Virtual subjects: Using the Internet as an alternative source of subjects and research environmentBehavior Research Methods, Instruments & Computers, 1997
- World-Wide Web survey research: Benefits, potential problems, and solutionsBehavior Research Methods, Instruments & Computers, 1997
- Automated testing: Past, present and futureJournal of Occupational Psychology, 1984