Surf Wiki
Save to docs
general/research

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Internet research

Using Internet-based information or resources in research

Using Internet-based information or resources in research

Internet research comprises any kind of research done on the Internet or the World Wide Web. Unlike simple fact-checking or web scraping, it often involves synthesizing information from diverse sources and verifying the credibility of each. In a stricter sense, "internet research" refers to conducting scientific research using online tools and techniques; the discipline that studies internet research is known as online research methods or internet-mediated research. As with other kinds of scientific research, it involves an ethical dimension. Internet research can also be interpreted as the part of internet studies that investigates the social, ethical, economic, managerial and political implications of the internet.

Characterization

Internet research has had a profound impact on the way ideas are formed and knowledge is created. Through web search, pages with some relation to a given search word or phrase can be visited and analyzed. In addition, the web can be used to connect with relevant people and conduct online interviews and other types of research. Communication tools used for internet research include email (including mailing lists), online discussion groups (including message boards and BBSes), social media and other personal communication facilities (instant messaging, IRC, newsgroups, etc.).

Internet research is distinct from library research, in that libraries provide access to institutional publications, which in some instances can be more reliable, however the line between the two is becoming less distinct. The term "internet research" resembles "scientific research" because of the word "research", but they denote different types of activity; the first refers to online information gathering and analysis, whereas the second usually implies empirical experiments. Internet research is also distinct from internet search as internet research involves analysing and evaluating data found and/or collected.

A distinction between internet studies and internet research, is that the former is the study of the distinct kinds of human interaction done on the internet, whereas internet research could study aspects other than behavior: technology, outcomes, etc.

Library and information science studies information, specifically how it is managed and deployed and can involve studying online data sources.

Human–computer interaction is the study of the design and the use of computer technology, with a focus on the interfaces between people humans and computers.

Search tools

Search tools for finding information on the internet include web search engines, the search engines on individual websites, meta search engines, web directories, and specialty search services.

Web search allows a user to enter a search query, in the form of keywords or a phrase, into either a search box or form, and then finds matching results and displays them on the screen.

Websites' search feature

Websites often have a search engine of their own, for searching just the site's content, often displayed at the top of every page. Wikipedia provides a search engine for exploring its content.

Specialty search tools

Specialty search tools enable users to find information that conventional search engines cannot access because the content is stored in databases. The vast majority of information on the web is stored in databases that require users to go to a specific site and access it through a search form. Often, the content is generated dynamically. Web crawlers are unable to index this information. This has led to the term invisible or deep web. Specialty search tools have evolved to provide users with the means to find deep web content. These specialty tools rely on advanced bot and intelligent agent technologies to search the deep web.

Internet research software

A variety of internet research software can be used to collect and analyse data. Methods used include online surveys, online polls, online focus groups, online interviews and content and social media analysis tools. The data can then be stored, analysed and evaluated. Other research software tools allow data collected to be analysed, edited and annotated and some have the ability to export to other formats. Features of some software include textual and statistical analysis.

Challenges

Given the internet provides access globally to vast amounts of data, this presents challenges including being able to find and locate relevant and reliable information when so much information is available, verifying the writers credentials, results being impacted by unrecognised bias and in being able to organise a diverse range of data types, such as structured, semi-structured and unstructured data. The requirement and importance of critically evaluating sources of data and developing the skills needed to do this, is pertinent to ensure reliability, relevance and accuracy. Critical evaluation is particularly important due to online misinformation, disinformation and AI-generated content. Whilst AI search engines and AI-powered research assistance tools, can assist internet research, by (for example) summarising academic research and analysing data, the reliability of generative AI can be problematic, sometimes resulting in AI hallucination. Ethical challenges such as privacy, managing personally identifiable data and gaining informed consent can also be challenging when conducting internet research.

References

References

  1. Jordan, Ragnor. (7 August 2022). "What is Internet Research?".
  2. Black, Michael L.. (2016-03-01). "The World Wide Web as Complex Data Set: Expanding the Digital Humanities into the Twentieth Century and Beyond through Internet Research". International Journal of Humanities and Arts Computing.
  3. (2017-07-01). "Ethical challenges in online research: Public/private perceptions". Research Ethics.
  4. (2023). "Internet Research Ethics". Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University.
  5. (2025-05-02). "Internet Research".
  6. (2014-01-02). "The Impact of the Internet in Travel and Tourism: A Research Review 2001–2010". Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing.
  7. Howarth, Josh. (2023-03-27). "How to Use Google Trends for Market Research (2024)".
  8. (7 August 2024). "Virtual interviews: A new norm in qualitative research during the Covid-19 pandemic".
  9. (2023-08-03). "The Impact of Digital Communication in Academia".
  10. "Defining "The Library" and "The Internet:" An Introduction".
  11. (2023). "Accessibility of university websites worldwide: a systematic literature review". Universal Access in the Information Society.
  12. (2025-06-10). "Online Search and Research: An Introduction to Web-Based Investigation • Journalism University". Journalism & Mass Communication Hub.
  13. Brügger, Niels. (2012). "When the Present Web is Later the Past: Web Historiography, Digital History, and Internet Studies". Historical Social Research / Historische Sozialforschung.
  14. "What is Library and Information Science? {{!}} School of Library and Information Science - Graduate College {{!}} The University of Iowa".
  15. (2026-01-07). "What is Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)?".
  16. "LibGuides: Searching the Internet: Types of Search Engines".
  17. "Effective internet searching {{!}} Girton College".
  18. "How do search engines work?".
  19. Bosman, Jeroen. "LibGuides: Wikipedia (EN): Find out more".
  20. Rajani, Priyal. (2024-09-26). "Best Tools and Techniques for Web Research Services".
  21. Stobing, Chris. (2018-06-02). "Using deep web search engines for academic and scholarly research".
  22. "Conduct High Quality Online Research: Process, Types, Tools, Tips & More {{!}} Delegated (formerly Red Butler)".
  23. "Online Research: Methods, Tips, & More".
  24. Southall, John. "Oxford LibGuides: Data and Statistics for Social Sciences: Data analysis tools & training".
  25. (2022-08-07). "What is Internet Research? A Professional's Guide to Online Research with AI in 2026".
  26. (2014-07-15). "The ethics and editorial challenges of internet-based research". BMC Medicine.
  27. Jones, Dr Chris. (31 March 2011). "Ethical issues in online research".
  28. Arangüena, Inés. (2024-04-05). "AI in Research: Its Uses and Limitations".
  29. Hargittai, E.. (April 2002). "Second-Level Digital Divide: Differences in People's Online Skills". [[First Monday (journal).
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

research
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Internet research — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report