Online Research Methods

Online marketing research is the process by which companies use the Internet to gather data to evaluate how well a product or service is selling to consumers. The information provided by a careful market analysis conducted online can also identify popular trends that can assist a company in creating a strategy that will get better results. When used properly, online marketing research can be an effective tool that a company can use to experience higher revenues.
In addition to identifying potential areas for growth, online market research can help a company learn more about its target consumers. For example, if consumers purchase a certain type of product and then return to purchase accessories, that is a specific type of consumer behavior that can be measured. The information gathered from doing an online market research study is helpful to track this type of behavior.
An online marketing research study can be conducted by the company itself, or the company may choose to hire an outside company to manage this. How and by what method a company decides to conduct a market research plan is dependent upon how objective or anonymous the company wishes to remain. An online marketing research program can include any number of methodologies.
Some companies may use a direct method, by which a survey is sent out to existing customers to determine satisfaction levels and gather feedback. A company may also contact consumers and gather information from a specific demographic, such as an age group, or a specific geographic region. Companies may also use a “blind” method, by which a random sample of the population is contacted for opinions online.

Benefits of Online Research
Twenty years ago, research via the Internet was something that most students had heard of, but hadn't used and didn't have the immediate ability to try it. Now, Internet technology is so wide-spread that many households have Internet access and use it on a regular basis. For students, particularly those in further education, the research that they are able to do on the Internet is of enormous help to their studies, because there are a number of benefits to online research methods. * The ability to search for your topic easily
Just by typing in a few relevant keywords into a search engine, you will be shown page after page of resources that are available to you. If there are too many, it is easy to cut them down by being more specific. The more you search, the more you become knowledgeable about just what is available, and basic searches take no more than just a few minutes. Pouring over book and journal indexes in libraries was the previous option, and could take days. * The availability of reports and journal articles
There is a wide range of academic journals and reports available on the Internet, and although many people can only access the synopses, most universities will have the access (usually via a password) that a student needs to read and download the full article. Whereas previously, a student would probably need to visit several libraries in order to gather together the relevant information, now, virtually everything is at one's fingertips. * The ability to compare and contrast a number of sources
Finding relevant information will undoubtedly reap even more rewards, because, especially if it is an academic piece, it will list a bibliography at the end. This gives the student access to even more sources, which can easily make the difference between an average essay and a very good one, provided that the student is able to apply the information correctly. It is therefore easier for students to find the best information available to back up the points they are trying to make. * The ease of printing off required information
Once you have found what you need, it is easy to print, or download and print, the information that is relevant to you, whether it is just a few pages or a report of a couple of hundred pages. No longer is it necessary to wait until the relevant book or journal is available, then hunt it down and wait for the photocopier, before standing there for hours copying what you need. You can also save the URL or even a copy of the document to your computer so that you can find it at a later date, should you lose the hard copy.

* The ability (for teachers) to easily check for plagiarism
Plagiarism is rife amongst university students and has been for some time. Now, however, it is easy enough to check for plagiarism, simply by typing in random sentences into a search engine. Even more easily, if you use a browser such as Google Chrome and have the student's paper online, you can highlight, write click and choose the search Google option - if it is copied, Google will find it. * The ability to contact authors of reports and articles by email
If you find an article that interests you and you want to contact the author to ask more questions, then it is usually easy enough to contact them by email - many journals include the contact details for authors at the end of the article. This is a great way of conducting research, especially if you decide that an interview with the person in question would help with your work. You may also be able to share other sources with each other. * The use of Internet forums to ask questions
If you are struggling with a certain aspect of your research and really can't seem to make any headway with it, there are almost certainly a number of Internet forums that deal with your topic, on which you can post questions, or ask for assistance. The response may not be immediate, but provided that you don't leave it until the last minute, you will probably receive some kind of response. If you don't, then perhaps it is time to admit defeat on that particular point. * Examples of well-written academic pieces
If you are fairly new to academic writing, then it is easy to print off a few good examples from the Internet and study how they are put together. Your school will have guidelines, but sometimes it is better to see it for yourself. If you're unsure how to use formatting techniques, such as sub-script and super-script, or how to set out a bibliography, all this is available on-line too. If you need to interview people in the community for your research, sample survey questions will be available. Anything you need will be there, just a few clicks away.
There is no doubt that the Internet has revolutionised research methods, provided that we aren’t put off by the sheer volume of information. One must just be sensible with what he/she find and ensure that it comes from a reliable source.