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UT ADV 391K - METHODOLOGIES, TECHNIQUES AND ISSUES

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CONDUCTING RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET:METHODOLOGIES, TECHNIQUES AND ISSUESHairong Li, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MIMichael Donatello, Newspaper Association of America, Vienna, VAJohn D. Leckenby, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TXDennis Gonier, Digital Marketing Services, Lewisville, TXCheng Kuo, National Chengchi University, Taipei, TaiwanHyunyi Cho, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MIThe Internet is increasingly used as a research toolby marketing research firms and academic researchers.This usage has generated a body of new knowledge andnew issues, which deserves systematic investigation. Twofundamental questions are raised: How reliable and valid isthe research that is conducted on the Internet, and howcould the reliability and validity of an Internet study be in-creased? Proper use of the Internet for research purposerequires an understanding of several aspects of the Internetfrom a researcheris perspective. For instance, social issuessuch as the privacy and informed consent of research par-ticipants should be considered when an Internet study isdesigned. Methodological considerations of representa-tiveness and generalizability of the sample in an onlinesurvey or successful manipulations in field experiments arecritical to the quality of a study. Programming techniquescan be used to insure and increase the reliability and valid-ity of an Internet project. Some of these important issueswere addressed by the presenters of this special topics ses-sion.Recruiting Respondents for a Web SurveyJohn D. Leckenby, Everett D. Collier CentennialChair in Communication in the Department of Advertisingat the University of Texas at Austin, addressed the meth-odological issues of recruiting respondents for an onlinesurvey in early 1998. A recruiting message for the surveywas distributed via three channels: telephone contact,postings in 15 newsgroups, and in 31 discussion lists.Telephone calls were made to 1,500 people residing inAustin, Texas to ask them to participate in the survey.Also, computer- and education-related newsgroups anddiscussion lists were selected at the discretion of theauthors and the same message soliciting participation inthe survey was posted to each forum.All participants were, asked to complete the surveytwice in two consecutive weeks. To increase the responserate, an incentive in the form of a sweepstakes entry wasoffered to survey participants. Participants’ responses wereautomatically transmitted to a Microsoft Access databasefile which, in conjunction with script-based processing atthe server, made it possible to process responses immedi-ately after they were submitted.The survey page was accessed 811 times by 5 11people. Among these, 309 (60.5%) participated in the sur-vey twice as instructed. Sixty four percent of the 5 11 re-spondents were male and 35% female. Geographically,11.9% were from 19 other countries; domestic respondentscame from 38 states.Fifty-three percent of respondents reported hearingabout the survey from discussion list postings, 25% fromnewsgroup postings and 5% from telephone contact. Asmuch as 17% of the respondents indicated they heardabout the survey from other unmanaged sources. Althoughthe efficiency of each of the three recruiting channels can-not be determined definitively, the message postings to thediscussion lists and newsgroups seemed more effectivethan telephone calls. The first two alternatives also weremore efficient in terms of costs, time and personnel effort.The monetary incentive used with the survey waseffective in that the percentage of the repeat respondentswas unusually high (60.5%), and a large percentage ofparticipants (17%) were from unmanaged sources such asword-of-mouth. Leckenby’s research associates, JongpilHong and Suckkee Lee, of the Department of Advertisingat the University of Texas at Austin, presented their expe-rience in data collection part of this project.The Research Experienceon America OnlineDennis Gonier, President of Digital MarketingServices (DMS), demonstrated his company’s use ofAmerica Online’s Opinion Place as a venue for conductingmarketing research for Fortune 500 companies.Why online market research? Gonier indicated thatconsumers have been telling us, through their non-contactand refusal rates to more traditional survey research, thatthey want research to be convenient and non-intrusive.Consumers are willing and even desire to provide theirfeedback and opinions, but they want to do it on their owntime and when it is convenient for them. Online research289offers cost and timing efficiencies, even for traditional re-search applications. And the rapid development of onlinechannels will open even greater possibilities for research.Gonier thinks that to maintain the “science” of re-search, several principles must be followed and, in fact, areobserved on America Online. First, a critical mass of con-sumers is a requirement for selection of random samplesfor online surveys. With 11 million users, AOL providesthat critical mass. Second, broad access is necessary to in-sure relevant target consumers. AOL’s Opinion Place pro-vides members easy access to survey participation. Third,incentives for survey participation should be universal andrelevant. With AOL Rewards, members can accumulatepoints for survey participation as well as product purchasesand apply points toward their AOL service or merchandise.Fourth, access to a survey should be controlled. DMS’ssurvey selection entails a three-step access control process,making it impossible for consumers to select the surveysthey will take. Fifth, a survey needs to provide a fully in-teractive experience. DMS’s online research is driven by astate-of-art, proprietary survey engine featuring screeningcapabilities, quota management, rotations, skip patterns,and full graphics and multimedia integration. Followingthese principles, DMS has conducted over 3000,ooO onlineinterviews, many of which have been validated throughcomparability tests.An Online Field Experimenton Design FactorsCheng Kuo, Professor of the Department of Adver-tising at National Chengchi University in Taiwan and Vis-iting Scholar of the Department of Advertising at MichiganState University, presented an online experimental studyshe conducted in collaboration with a monthly moviemagazine in Taiwan, LOOK. A 2x2 factorial design wasused to test the impact of the ratio of text to picture and thelevel of interactivity on viewers’ evaluation of the


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