Online research is market research using the Internet.
Compared to traditional market research conducted through on-site interviews or mail, it is possible to collect a large amount of research results in a short period of time and at a lower cost.
This time, let’s take a look at the meaning, advantages and disadvantages, and future prospects of online research.
■What is the meaning of online research?
Internet research refers to market research using the Internet. Before the advent of the Internet, market research was
・Visit the home of the research target and interview them
・Send the questionnaire by mail and have the answers returned.
This was done by methods such as.
However, by using the Internet, it has become possible to collect a large amount of answers in a short period of time and at a low cost.
Many online research companies have a large number of voluntarily registered survey respondents called “monitors (members)” and “panels.”
Macromill, which is said to be a leading company in online research, has over 10 million registered monitors.
Attributes such as age, gender, and place of residence are known for the monitors, and it is possible to narrow down the attributes according to the purpose of the investigation.
In addition to raw data from monitor responses, you can also request a survey company to compile and analyze the survey results.
It is also possible to obtain the cooperation of dedicated support staff, from designing the questionnaire to compiling and analyzing the results.
■Advantages and disadvantages of online research
It is important to understand the advantages and disadvantages before using online research.
Let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of online research.
●Advantages of online research
・It is possible to complete the process from conducting a survey to collecting responses in a short period of time.
Internet research market research is conducted over the Internet, rather than through on-site interviews or mail.
Questionnaires are instantly sent to respondents online, and responses are returned instantly online.
Compared to on-site interviews or market research conducted by mail, it is possible to complete the process from conducting a survey to collecting responses in an overwhelmingly short time.
・Investigation costs can be reduced
Market research using on-site interviews requires a researcher to be dispatched to the respondent’s home.
Additionally, even if the survey is conducted by mail, postage fees will be charged for shipping the questionnaire and returning the responses.
On the other hand, online research automatically processes everything from sending survey forms to collecting responses, so it does not require any manpower and does not require postage, making it possible to conduct market research at a lower cost.
・Can collect a large amount of answers
Major companies have millions of registered online research monitors.
With online research, even if the number of responses monitored increases, it is easy to collect a large number of responses because it does not require additional time or effort to conduct the survey or collect responses.
-Easy to narrow down survey targets by attributes.
Online research monitors have their age, gender, place of residence, and other attributes known in advance.
This makes it easy to narrow down the attributes and conduct a survey.
・Easy to aggregate and analyze
Answers to online research become digital data at the time they are answered.
There is no need to re-enter handwritten data on paper, making it easy to aggregate and analyze data.
●Disadvantages of online research
・Respondents are biased Only people who use the Internet can respond to
online research.
As of 2018, 83.5% of the population in Japan now uses the Internet.
There are disparities in Internet usage, with the rate of Internet usage decreasing as people get older and as their annual income decreases.
Therefore, online research is a less effective research method for elderly people and low-income people who have low Internet usage rates.
・I have doubts about the reliability of the answers.
Online research monitors are registered anonymously.
Since identity verification is not conducted through on-site interviews or mail, there is no guarantee that attributes such as age, gender, and place of residence answered by the monitors themselves are true.
Monitors also receive rewards such as points that can be used for web shopping by responding to surveys.
Therefore, we cannot deny the possibility that the same person may pretend to be more than one person and give false answers in order to obtain compensation.
■Future outlook for internet research
What are the challenges faced by online research, which has great advantages compared to traditional research methods?
Finally, let’s take a look at the challenges faced by online research and its future prospects.
●Problems caused by increasing smartphone usage rate
One of the major changes in the environment surrounding online research is the spread of smartphones.
In less than 10 years, the usage rate of smartphones has increased to the point where it exceeds the usage rate of PCs, and while smartphones are easy to use,
・Input takes more time and effort than using a computer
・Response time is shortened because users often use it during their free time.
There are also some disadvantages to online research.
Therefore, research is underway as a new survey method that takes advantage of the characteristics of smartphones, using data such as response time, response interruptions, number of mouse clicks, scrolling, pinching/zooming, etc.
●Decrease in response rate/problems with getting used to answering
The response rate of online research monitors has declined due to factors such as lower cooperation fees.
Additionally, by answering the survey many times, monitors may become accustomed to the answers, and as monitors become accustomed to responding, there is a risk that they may give false answers or answer without thinking carefully in order to complete the survey in a short amount of time. .
In order to avoid these problems, attempts have been made to obtain new respondents, such as requesting survey responses from sites visited by an unspecified number of people.
■Summary
◆ Internet research is market research using the Internet.
◆ The advantage of online research is that it allows you to collect a large number of responses in a short period of time at a low cost.
◆ There are also disadvantages such as bias in respondents and questionable reliability of answers.
◆ New research methods are emerging due to environmental changes such as the advent of smartphones.