MARKETING RESEARCH ONLINE

Market research on Internet includes both primary and secondary researches.

As primary research, there are web page survey, E-mail survey, and online focus group. Web page survey is a quantitative survey, and many responses are expected within a short period. However, it is difficult to prevent multiple replies from one person, which lead to bias to the result. There are two types of questionnaires, simple flat file and interactive questionnaire using CAPI (computer assisted personal interview).

E-mail survey is used as one of qualitative survey, and higher response level can be expected. Surveyor must maintain a list of e-mail address. On-line focus group is conducted, using online chat, which eliminates logistical problem. back to top

ResearchInfo.com - the online marketing research community

SurveySystem.com - survey design tips

The most prevalent method that is used to track information on the web is through the use of cookies. "Cookies" are small software programs that are placed on consumers' computers when they visit sites. The cookies allow the sites to track customer habits on the web. Sites can create an online profile of a user when they use these cookies and combine them with personal information. A profile can reveal habits such as what customers buy or don't buy, what advertisements they click on, and how much time they spend in what area. Although cookies have gotten a lot of bad publicity, they are not all bad.

Cookies are not the only way that sites can track internet users. Other examples of what sites can use to track users include: IP address, service provider, operating system, browser type, and CPU type. back to top

cookiecentral.com - all about cookies

Article in Time magazine

The continuing rapid growth of on-line data and the widespread use of databases necessitate the development of techniques for extracting useful knowledge and for facilitating database access. The challenge of extracting knowledge from data is of common interest to several fields, including statistics, databases, pattern recognition, machine learning, data visualization, optimization, and high-performance computing.

As with any paper-and-pencil instrument, most any parametric and non-parametric statistical procedures can be conducted using data from an Internet instrument. Simple methods such as significance testing and Chi-square analysis are considered when evaluating different statistical methods for data analysis.

Data mining is the process of extracting knowledge from data. In this process, we extract the hidden predictive information from large databases. It is a powerful new technology with great potential, for example, to help marketing managers "preemptively define the information market of tomorrow." back to top

Statistical Tools - online resources

Data Mining publications from Information Discovery, Inc.

When speaking about online research, first of all, we should understand that Internet users are somewhat different from the general population. However, as time goes, the user profile is becoming more representative of general population.

Collecting data on Internet is the most similar to the mail survey technique called "disk-by-mail". However, it has some advantages and disadvantages. Upsides are low cost, low turnaround time, opportunity to use multimedia, graphical illustrations and multimedia. Downsides are unobserved data collection, limited instrument capabilities and sampling limitations.

Three issues that must be addressed in deciding on Online Research are sample representativeness, confidentiality and complexity of interview process. back to top

Article on advantages and disadvantages of Online Research by InfoTek Research Group

Another good site - SurveysOverNet (web survey methodology)

The trend for marketing research firms seems to be going for more of a sneaky technique. This may backfire in the long run since online privacy has been becoming a large issue. An example of this is the serial number given to a Pentium III chip that would allow websites to better track customers.

Web sites that give away prizes are another example of marketing research trends. IWon.com is a web site that gives you a chance at winning money by participating in marketing surveys and questionnaires. The commercial for the web site makes it look like a search engine, however, to have a chance at winning any money, you need to fill out a survey. There have been other web sites using "free" prizes to get people to fill out surveys. back to top

Assorted links from E_valuations

SurveySite.com