Online research methods

{{Short description|Ways in which researchers collect data via the Internet}} '''Online research methods''' ('''ORMs''') are ways in which researchers can collect data via the internet. They are also referred to as Internet research,<ref>Reips, U.-D. (2012). Using the Internet to collect data. In H. Cooper, P. M. Camic, R. Gonzalez, D. L. Long, A. Panter, D. Rindskopf, & K. J. Sher (eds.), APA Handbook of Research Methods in Psychology, Vol 2: Research designs: Quantitative, qualitative, neuropsychological, and biological (pp. 291-310). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/13620-017</ref> Internet science,<ref>Reips, U.-D., & Bosnjak, M. (Eds.). (2001). Dimensions of Internet Science. Lengerich: Pabst. http://iscience.deusto.es/archive/reips/dis/</ref> or Web-based methods.<ref>Reips, U.-D. (2006). Web-based methods. In M. Eid & E. Diener (Eds.), Handbook of multimethod measurement in psychology (pp. 73-85). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/11383-006</ref> Many of these online research methods are related to existing research methodologies but re-invent and re-imagine them in the light of new technologies and conditions associated with the internet. The field is relatively new and evolving. With the growth of social media, a new level of complexity and opportunity has been created. The inclusion of social media research can provide unique insights into consumer and societal segments and gaining an "emotional" measure of a population on issues of interest.

Some specific types of method include: *Cyber-ethnography *Online content analysis *Online focus groups *Online interviews *Online qualitative research *Online questionnaires *Social network analysis *Web-based experiments *Online clinical trials – or see below

== Online clinical trials == Clinical trials are at the heart of current evidence-based medical care. They are, however, traditionally expensive and difficult to undertake. Using internet resources can, in some cases, reduce the economic burden, and may have other benefits in Medicine.<ref>Reips, U.-D. (2013). Internet-based studies. In Marc D. Gellman, J. Rick Turner (eds.), Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine (Part 9, pp. 1097-1102). Berlin: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_28</ref> Paul et al.,<ref>The Internet and Clinical Trials: Background, Online Resources, Examples and Issues. James Paul; Rachael Seib; Todd Prescott. Journal of Medical Internet Research Vol 7 (1) 2005. http://www.jmir.org/2005/1/e5/ (accessed 12 Feb 2009).</ref> in [http://www.jmir.org/ ''The Journal of Medical Internet Research''], describe the background and methodologies of online clinical trials and list examples.

== Research in and with social media == The advent of social media has recently led to new online research methods, for example data mining of large datasets from such media<ref>Reips, U.-D., & Garaizar, P. (2011). Mining Twitter: Microblogging as a source for psychological wisdom of the crowds.Some websites specialize in creation of online content such as http://perfectscholars.com/ ''Behavior Research Methods'', 43, 635-642. doi:10.3758/s13428-011-0116-6</ref> or web-based experiments within social media that are entirely under the control of researchers, e.g. those created with the software Social Lab.<ref>Garaizar, P. & Reips, U.-D. (2013). Build your own social network laboratory with Social Lab: a tool for research in social media. ''Behavior Research Methods''. doi 10.3758/s13428-013-0385-3</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==Further reading== * Hooley, Tristram John Marriott and Jane Wellens, ''[http://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/what-is-online-research-using-the-internet-for-social-science-research/ What is Online Research? Using the Internet for Social Science Research]'' (Bloomsbury Academic, 2012) {{ISBN|978-1-8496-6554-4}} (open access online)

==External links== * [http://www.geog.le.ac.uk/orm/ ''Exploring online research methods''] * [http://aoir.org/reports/ethics.pdf ''Association of Online Internet Researchers Ethical Report''] * [http://iscience.eu iScience Server] * [http://wexlist.net List of online research studies] * [http://bcjms.bhattercollege.ac.in/V2/09_Online_Research_Methodology.pdf "Online Research Methodology: Using the Internet and the Web for Research and Publication"]-Tarun Tapas Mukherjee, Bhatter College, ''Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies''. Vol. 2, 2012. http://bcjms.bhattercollege.ac.in * [http://ijis.net ''The International Journal of Internet Science''] - a journal that publishes articles on online research methods * [http://www.gor.de ''Annual General Online Research Conference'']

Category:Online research methods