Online Research Methods & Techniques

At its simplest level, online research methods are no different from existing offline research methodologies; except that they have re-invented and re-imagined themselves to adapt to new technologies possible with the internet. In this article we explore some of the more popular methods and assess how they can benefit your organisation.

3. Online questionnaires. A popular way to collect information, online questionnaires allow greater flexibility in displaying information, enables responses to be collated more quickly and allows a range of response formats (eg radio buttons, check boxes, etc). With typically low response rates, factors that determine success include respondent ability, respondent motivation and the task difficulty / questionnaire design.

Whichever method is used, establishing a representative target respondent panel is vital and there are numerous ways that a panel can be recruited:

Ø Advertisements (on and offline)

Ø Bulletin boards

Ø Mass emails

Ø Direct mail

Ø Telephone

Ø Online research communities

Ø Custom online panels

Optionally the use of incentives, competitions and discounts can also help recruit panellists although care must be taken not to introduce bias or to attract the serial respondent.

Perhaps the most exciting development in online research is that of Market Research Online Communities. Here a targeted group of people are recruited into a private online community, to participate in research related activities over an extended period of time. They are especially useful in the early stages of strategy development and allow for a greater insight into buyer belief and attitudes.