Internet Research

Internet research is the practice of using the Internet, especially the World Wide Web, for research. The internet is widely used and readily accessible to hundreds of millions of people in many parts of the world. It can provide practically instant information on most topics, and has a profound impact on the way ideas are formed and knowledge is created.

Research is a broad term. Here, it is used to mean "looking something up (on the Web)". It includes any activity where a topic is identified, and an effort is made to actively gather information for the purpose of furthering understanding. Common applications of Internet research include personal research on a particular subject (something mentioned on the news, a health problem, etc.), students doing research for academic projects and papers, and journalists and other writers researching stories. It should be distinguished from scientific research - research following a defined and rigorous process - carried out on the Internet; from straightforward finding of specific info, like locating a name or phone number; and from research about the Internet.

Compared to the Internet, print physically limits access to information. A book has to be identified, then actually obtained. On the Net, the Web can be searched, and typically hundreds or thousands of pages can be found with some relation to the topic, within seconds. In addition, email (including mailing lists), online discussion forums (aka message boards, BBS's), and other personal communication facilities (instant messaging, IRC, newsgroups, etc.) can provide direct access to experts and other individuals with relevant interests and knowledge. However, difficulties persist in verifying a writer's credentials, and therefore the accuracy or pertinence of the information obtained—see also the article Reliability of Wikipedia.

Further difficulties in internet research center around search tool bias and whether the searcher has sufficient skill to draw meaningful results from the abundance of material typically available. The first resources retrieved may not be the most suitable resources to answer a particular question. For example, popularity is often a factor used in structuring internet search results but the most popular information is not always the most correct or representative of the breadth of knowledge and opinion on a topic.