Internet Public Opinion Surveys as a Data Collecting Tool for Making Legal Decisions: Analysis of the Context and Reasons for Using

Abstract

The article is dedicated to finding reasons for the reliability of such a data collection tool as Internet surveys. The article consistently presents the arguments “pro” and “contra” using online surveys. In the scientific community, “contra” arguments are often put forward considering ideal research standards, which are often not feasible even in proven methods of data collection, such as censuses, phone surveys, etc. Based on this, in the article each argument “contra” is placed into the comparative plane — by examining the Internet surveys’ accusations of insufficient representativeness, sampling bias, and other disadvantages along with similar arguments against accepted methods of data collection, the lack of theoretical and methodological foundation of these charges is revealed. The irrelevance of “contra” arguments is also shown by analyzing global and Russian trends in the spread of the Internet and computer literacy. The “pro” arguments presented in the article are intended to demonstrate the features of generalization of findings obtained using online surveys, considering the specifics of this type of data collection. The evidence presented in the article for the validity of data obtained in online surveys confirms the possibility of using them in particular for making legal and public management decisions, provided that the specifics of the obtained data are taken into account.