A Primer on Internet Organizational Surveys

Abstract

With so many individuals linked to the Internet and so many possible ways to reach them, the debate for organizational scholars is no longer over whether Internet self-administered surveys are possible but rather over the comparative understanding and the relative advantages and disadvantages of these surveys. Because relevant research has generally been fragmented and narrow in scope, making comparisons difficult, the authors review and assess the research on Internet selfadministered surveying modalities of electronic mail and the World Wide Web. Then, they provide recommendations that address problematic and controversial aspects of these modalities, including ways to increase the representativeness of samples, construct sampling frames, increase response rates, and manage anonymity and confidentiality.