Location of Research

Question 1

How Do You Conduct Research Online?

Answer 1

• Questionnaires + Surveys - participants willing + knowingly complete
• Content analysis - on forums (e.g. looking at the use of language in relation to a topic/people’s internet history/considering the number of people using social media platforms

Question 2

What Are the Advantages of Online Research?

Answer 2

• People have typically given their consent
• Participants are more likely to answer questions honestly without pressure from researcher
• Opens the sample up to a significant larger population
• Less rick of researcher bias - researcher doesn’t need to be present
• Participants are under less pressure to appear in a certain way as they are anonymised behind a keyboard

Question 3

What are the Disadvantages of Online Research?

Answer 3

• Cannot verify that participants are who they say they are
• There’s little we can do to prevent malicious intent
• Confidentiality may be an issue as participants could be identified through their IP address
• Acquiring participants to take part in online research can be difficult
• Right to Withdraw means that even after data been collected a participant has the right ti pull out of the study + have their deleted