Web-based Surveys: Reaching Potential Respondents On-Line

The popular business press has closely monitored the rapid ascension of electronic commerce over the past few years. We are well aware of the explosion in B2C and B2B Web-enabled commerce. In most cases, the Web is helping us to fulfill transactions in a new, more efficient way. But the Web is also helping researchers to realize new, more efficient ways to conduct the business of research. One such use of the Web is for survey administration. Questions remain regarding the viability of Web-based surveys among prospective users. This article presents the common motivations for and reservations concerning administering research surveys on-line. Advantages and disadvantages of online survey methodology are reviewed. This article also provides a brief overview of the process and lessons learned from the authors’ recent experience with this emerging research mechanism. A Look at the Positives