Now, I’m not brown-nosing, but Paul was right. The internet is a bloody statistical goldmine. I never really appreciated the advantages online data collection and interviews could offer a researcher. Now, so far in this blog, I’ve been a bit more negative then positive. Therefore, in this post, I’m going to highlight all the advantages to utilizing the internet from a research perspective.
1) Memory. You don’t need to type out a transcript after you conduct an interview. Your interview doubles as a transcript! Hooray!
2) Comfort. I don’t just mean the comfort of sitting in your chair and conducting an interview. I mean the comfort of asking questions, that you may steer away from in a face-to-face interview. Also, your facial reactions won’t be used against you.
3) Amount of information. It’s easier to track down 1000 interviewees through the internet medium then it is to track down 1000 interviewees
4) Sample size. Why stick to Lethbridge, Alberta? Heck, with this medium (and a large budget) you could utilize a worldwide sample (or at least, the areas of the world that have a significant proportion of their population “connected” to the internet.
In fact, I’m so impressed, I will be conduct a few online interviews for my final project. In addition, I’m considering utilizing online surveys for my future honors thesis! How’s that for positive?
Finally, here is a fantastic video I came across not too long ago. It talks about utilizing data and the importance of a international “data headquarters”. I really suggest you view it! http://www.okananter.com/wordpress/?p=21
