Editing Internet research (section)

==Characterization==
Internet research has had a profound impact on the way [[idea]]s are formed and [[knowledge]] is created.<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1080/10548408.2014.861724| issn = 1054-8408| volume = 31| issue = 1| pages = 82–113| last1 = Standing| first1 = Craig| last2 = Tang-Taye| first2 = Jean-Pierre| last3 = and Boyer| first3 = Michel| title = The Impact of the Internet in Travel and Tourism: A Research Review 2001–2010| journal = Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing| access-date = 2025-05-02| date = 2014-01-02| url = https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2014.861724| url-access = subscription}}</ref> Through [[web search]], [[Web page|page]]s with some relation to a given search entry can be visited, analyzed, and compiled. In addition, the Web can be used to connect with relevant sources of primary data (e.g., experts) and conduct [[online interview]]s. Communication tools used for this purpose on the Web include [[email]] (including [[mailing lists]]), online [[discussion group]]s (including [[message boards]] and [[Bulletin board system|BBS]]<nowiki/>es), and other personal communication facilities ([[instant messaging]], [[Internet Relay Chat|IRC]], [[newsgroup]]s, etc.).

===Issues===

Internet research can provide quick, immediate, and worldwide [[access to information]], although results may be affected by unrecognized bias, difficulties in verifying a writer's [[credentials]] (and therefore the accuracy or pertinence of the information obtained), and whether the researcher has sufficient skill to draw meaningful results from the abundance of material that is typically available.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Hargittai, E. |date=April 2002 |title=Second-Level Digital Divide: Differences in People's Online Skills |journal=[[First Monday (journal)|First Monday]] |volume=7 |issue=4 |doi=10.5210/fm.v7i4.942 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The first resources that are retrieved may not be the most suitable resources to answer a particular question. Popularity is often a factor used in structuring Internet search results, but popular information is not always the most correct or representative of the breadth of knowledge and opinion on a given topic.

===Related activities===
Internet research is distinct from library research, in that libraries provide access to institutional publications, which are ideally more reliable; as the review and selection process gets transferred online, the line between the two is getting blurred.<ref>{{cite web |title=Defining "The Library" and "The Internet:" An Introduction |url=https://www.kennesaw.edu/writing-center/open-educational-resources/annotated-bibliography/understanding-using-library-internet-research.php |website=[[Kennesaw State University]] |access-date=28 April 2025}}</ref> The expression "Internet research" resembles "[[scientific research]]" because of the word "research", but they denote different types of activity; the first refers to online information gathering, whereas the second usually implies empirical experiments.<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1007/s10209-021-00825-z| issn = 1615-5289| volume = 22| issue = 1| pages = 133–168| last1 = Campoverde-Molina| first1 = Milton| last2 = Luján-Mora| first2 = Sergio| last3 = Valverde| first3 = Llorenç| title = Accessibility of university websites worldwide: a systematic literature review| journal = Universal Access in the Information Society| date = 2023| pmid = 34248456| pmc = 8259087}}</ref> It is also distinct from [[Internet search]], which includes looking up specific facts online driven by other needs than research. Internet research is also distinct from [[market research]], as the latter is done mainly for profitability.

===Related fields===
One distinction could be made between Internet studies and Internet research, in that the former is the study of the distinctive sorts of human interaction done on the Internet,<ref>{{Cite journal| issn = 0172-6404| volume = 37| issue = 4 (142)| pages = 102–117| last = Brügger| first = Niels| title = When the Present Web is Later the Past: Web Historiography, Digital History, and Internet Studies| journal = Historical Social Research / Historische Sozialforschung| access-date = 2025-05-03| date = 2012| url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/41756477| jstor = 41756477}}</ref> whereas Internet research could study other aspects than behavior: technology, outcomes, etc.

[[Library and information science]] studies information, especially how it is managed and deployed. Its object is related, but not identity to Internet research, whose object of study is an activity.

[[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.