INTERNET

Using the Internet as a Research Tool

Using the Internet as a Research Tool

Internet having a vital role in today's life. There are many Advantages Disadvantages of the Internet, Today; the Internet is one of the most powerful tools throughout the world. The Internet is a collection of various services and resources. Internet is an International Database of information where you can find whatever is possible to imagine. The only limit is your own imagination! It is a helpful world but at the same time many dangers are hidden below this well-known library. Personally, you can downloaded a lot of helpful information and also many programs, games, other entertaining files such as screen savers, wallpapers but the most important is the communications programs that gives you the ability to communicate with many people all over the world. Almost all households contain the Internet; however, before people connect to the Internet, they need to be aware of Advantages Disadvantages of the Internet.

In Advantages Disadvantages of the Internet, the most common thing the Internet is used for is research. Children and students are among the top people who use the Internet for research. Today, it is almost required that students use the Internet for research. Thirty percent of teachers give assignments requiring research from the Internet. In the classroom, sixty-six percent of teachers use the Internet to teach. The Internet has become one of the biggest sources for research. Almost everyday, research on medical issues becomes easier to locate. Web sites have become available for people to research diseases and talk to doctors online at sites such as, America's Doctor. During 1998 over 20 million people reported going online to retrieve health information (Taylor, 65).

Advantages of Internet Research

The advantages of Internet Research are as follows:

Researchers in a variety of disciplines may find the Internet a fruitful area for conducting survey research. As the cost of computer hardware and software continues to decrease and the popularity of the Internet increases, more segments of society are using the Internet for communication and information (Fox et al., 2001; Nie et al., 2002). Thousands of groups and organizations have moved online, many of them aggressively promoting their presence through the use of search engines, email lists, and banner advertisements. These organizations not only offer information to consumers, they also present opportunities for researchers to access a variety of populations who are affiliated with these groups.

Communication researchers may find the Internet an especially rich domain for conducting survey research. Virtual communities have flourished online, and hundreds of thousands of people regularly participate in discussions about almost every conceivable issue and interest (Horrigan, 2001; Wellman, 1997; Wellman & Haythornthwaite, 2002). Areas as diverse as interpersonal (Parks & Floyd, 1996; Tidwell & Walther, 2002; Wright, 2004), group (Hollingshead, McGrath, & O'Connor, 1993; Hobman, Bordia, Irmer, & Chang, 2002), organizational (Ahuja & Carley, 1998), health (Rice & Katz, 2001; Wright, 2000a), and mass communication (Flaherty et al., 1998; Flanagin & Metzger, 2001) have been studied using online ...