CHAPTER 1 - University of Exeter

38
Chapter 2 - Methods
techniques to test for gender differences, which made the use of a survey more
appropriate.
Conducting research online
Both studies described above were conducted via the Internet. There are
several issues to consider when conducting research online rather than in the lab.
Obviously, there are a number of advantages using the Internet to carry out research;
for example namely the cost of resources is noticeably reduced (Kraut, et al., 2004),
and the time spent on recruitment of larger groups of participants can be reduced
greatly.
Another way of reducing the use of resources is the possibility of making
debriefing materials available via the internet as well. Both studies used an online
survey software package (PHP Surveyor Version 0.98) to create the surveys. This
allowed the final page of the questionnaire to display the debriefing information,
including information about how to contact the principal investigator with any
questions, after participants had completed and submitted their answers.
Using the Internet to conduct research studies can also help with ensuring
participants’ anonymity (Kraut et al, 2004). The use of the PHP programme allowed
the data to be imported directly from the server into a statistical analysis programme
(SPSS V. 15 for Windows); a feature that also helps reduce data entry errors. No
identifying data was stored with the answers to any questions provided by
participants, and if an email was required (as in Study 2 for the prize draw)
participants were instructed on the final page of the survey to email the investigator
separately.
However, using the internet as a research medium also presents a number of
challenges which need to be overcome (Kraut, et al., 2004). One of these challenges