Doing Internet Research


Book Description

Whether or not one believes the hyperbolic claims about the Internet being the biggest thing since the invention of the wheel, the Internet is a medium with great consequences for social and economic life. Doing Internet Research is written to help people discern in what ways it has commanded the public imagination, and the methodological issues that arise when one tries to study and understand the social processes occurring within the Internet. Each contributor to the volume offers original responses in the search for, and critique of, methods with which to study the Internet and the social, political, economic, artistic, communicative phenomena occurring within and around it. This book provides encouragement for readers getting started with Internet research and also provides perspective on this new and ubiquitous communication medium.




Children, Risk and Safety on the Internet


Book Description

As internet use is extending to younger children, there is an increasing need for research focus on the risks young users are experiencing, as well as the opportunities, and how they should cope. With expert contributions from diverse disciplines and a uniquely cross-national breadth, this timely book examines the prospect of enhanced opportunities for learning, creativity and communication set against the fear of cyberbullying, pornography and invaded privacy by both strangers and peers. Based on an impressive in-depth survey of 25,000 children carried out by the EU Kids Online network, it offers wholly new findings that extend previous research and counter both the optimistic and the pessimistic hype. It argues that, in the main, children are gaining the digital skills, coping strategies and social support they need to navigate this fast-changing terrain. But it also identifies the struggles they encounter, pinpointing those for whom harm can follow from risky online encounters. Each chapter presents new findings and analyses to inform both researchers and students in the social sciences and policy makers in government, industry or child welfare who are working to enhance children's digital experiences.




Internet Research Skills


Book Description

Internet Research Skills is a clear and concise guide to the effective use of the Internet for students in the social sciences. The open web is becoming central to student research practice, not least because of its accessibility, and this clear text describes search strategies and outlines the critical skills necessary to deal with such diverse and disorganized materials. This book covers all of the essential aspects of Internet research, with each chapter containing a number of illustrations, inset boxes, and short exercises.




Academic Research on the Internet


Book Description

Find what you’re looking for with the best Internet resources for academic research in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences! Which academic resource deserves more of your budget: printed books and journals or softly glowing terminals? The answer differs depending on the subject area, the availability and reliability of Internet information in that field, and the comparative value of Internet research and traditional print media. Academic Research on the Internet: Options for Scholars and Libraries gives you the information you need to make those choices. This comprehensive book examines the usability of the Internet as a scholarly research and reference tool. Each chapter provides a snapshot of Internet information access and usability in a specific subject area, comparing it to traditional print media. In addition, each chapter includes a selected webliography of key resources-a time-saving tool for librarians on the reference desk. Experts in specific subject areas provide up-to-the-minute assessments of the usefulness of the Internet for research in their fields, including: Arts and Architecture Biology Engineering Chemistry Physics and Mathematics Music Philosophy English and American Literature History Political Science Business Education Anthropology and Sociology Health Sciences Public Administration Law Environmental Sciences Reference Academic Research on the Internet is designed to provide the facts you need about the reliability, timeliness, and availability of Internet information. With this information, you can decide on the relative value of print subscriptions, assess the degree to which the Internet alone can satisfy users’ information needs, and make intelligent choices about budget allocation.




The Internet Research Handbook


Book Description

Internet Research Methods provides clear and detailed advice on the main areas of Internet research. For those carrying out research on-line, a number of very different sets of skills from the conventional 'systematic way of asking questions', is required. Niall O'Dochartaigh sets out, in clear and simple terms, best practice in the use of the Internet as a mainstream research resource. He covers: learning how to access the correct sites and extract information in the shortest possible time; maximizing the possibilities of email contact with other researchers around the world; finding out about the major databases which are devoted to the social sciences; learning how to do the detective work necessary to evaluate and to cite documents whose authorship and origins are often unclear; This practical guide deals with the Internet as a thread which runs through the entire research process, from formulating a research question to publishing the results of research.




How to Conduct Effective Online Research


Book Description

A detailed look at conducting online research, including how to write literature reviews, utilize annotated bibliographies, and use Boolean logic.




Internet Communication and Qualitative Research


Book Description

Examines the impact of Internet technology on qualitative research methods. This book draws on studies using computer-mediated communication (CMC) and shows how online researchers can employ Internet-based qualitative methods to collect descriptive, contextually-situated data. It is intended as a guide for students and researchers.







Internet Research Skills


Book Description

Internet Research Skills is a clear, concise guide to effective online research for social science and humanities students. The first half of the book deals with publications online, devoting separate chapters to academic articles, books, official publications and news sources, which form the core secondary sources for social science research. The second half of the book deals with the open web, a vast and confusing realm of materials, many of which have no direct print counterpart. The third edition has been updated throughout and now includes: - coverage of cutting edge online services as well as newly developed approaches to using online materials - a new chapter on organising your research and internet research methods - additional material on the use of social networks for research. - illustrations, examples and short exercises to help you put what you learn into practice. Internet Research Skills is an invaluable guide for undergraduate students carrying out research projects and for postgraduate students working on theses and dissertations.




International Handbook of Internet Research


Book Description

Internet research spans many disciplines. From the computer or information s- ences, through engineering, and to social sciences, humanities and the arts, almost all of our disciplines have made contributions to internet research, whether in the effort to understand the effect of the internet on their area of study, or to investigate the social and political changes related to the internet, or to design and develop so- ware and hardware for the network. The possibility and extent of contributions of internet research vary across disciplines, as do the purposes, methods, and outcomes. Even the epistemological underpinnings differ widely. The internet, then, does not have a discipline of study for itself: It is a ?eld for research (Baym, 2005), an open environment that simultaneously supports many approaches and techniques not otherwise commensurable with each other. There are, of course, some inhibitions that limit explorations in this ?eld: research ethics, disciplinary conventions, local and national norms, customs, laws, borders, and so on. Yet these limits on the int- net as a ?eld for research have not prevented the rapid expansion and exploration of the internet. After nearly two decades of research and scholarship, the limits are a positive contribution, providing bases for discussion and interrogation of the contexts of our research, making internet research better for all. These ‘limits,’ challenges that constrain the theoretically limitless space for internet research, create boundaries that give de?nition to the ?eld and provide us with a particular topography that enables research and investigation.