Content analysis of the homepages of academic psychologists

In the last decade, the World Wide Web has developed into a widely used information and communication system. This development has also affected academic institutions. Not only has the number of homepages presenting academic institutions increased; more and more scientists are also producing their own individual homepages. This paper presents the results of two studies in which the contents of psychologists' homepages were investigated. In study 1, a total of 350 homepages maintained by academic psychologists from four European countries (Germany, Austria, Great Britain, and Sweden) were evaluated. In study 2, psychologists from the same four European countries were asked by questionnaire about the contents of their own homepage. In sum, 86 scientists answered the questionnaire. The results of both studies show that information about research activities dominates the contents of psychologists' homepages. The results show too that differences between the four European countries exist. These differences are reported and discussed.