science

Internet-mediated research

Internet-mediated research is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Internet-mediated research rather than just read about it. In short: Internet-mediated research (IMR) is the research conducted through the medium of the Internet. In the medical field, it pertains to the practice of gathering medical, biomedical or health related research data via the internet directly from research subjects.

Key takeaways

Internet-mediated research belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Internet-mediated research to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Internet-mediated research from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Internet-mediated research (IMR) is the research conducted through the medium of the Internet. In the medical field, it pertains to the practice of gathering medical, biomedical or health related research data via the internet directly from research subjects. The subject, uses a web browser to view and respond to questionnaires that are included in an approved medical research protocol. Other fields such as geography also use IMR as a research tool. The primary Internet-mediated research is classified into three main types: online questionnaires, virtual interviews, and virtual ethnographies. There is also the case of secondary Internet research, which involves the use of the Internet in the location of secondary information sources such as journal databases, newspapers, and digital archives, among others. Some sources, however, exclude this type in their conceptualization of IMR. In a traditional medical research study, the principal investigator, Research Coordinator, or other study staff conducts an interview with the research subject and records the information on a paper or electronic case report form. Using IMR, the research subject instead responds to a questionnaire without the guidance of a research staff member, often performing the action at a time and place disassociated with the research clinic, using only a computer connected to the internet and a standard browser. Recently, the medical community has begun to study whether there are differences between IMR data and traditionally collected data.

References

External links Methodological Issues in Internet-Mediated Research: A Randomized Comparison of Internet Versus Mailed Questionnaires Internet Mediated Research: A Critical Reflection upon the Practice of Using Instant Messenger for Higher Educational Research Interviewing Archived 2015-11-24 at the Wayback Machine Qualitative Approaches in Internet-Mediated Research: Opportunities, Issues, Possibilities

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Internet-mediated research

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Internet-mediated research claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Internet-mediated research before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Internet-mediated research ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Internet-mediated research

In research: Internet-mediated research appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Internet-mediated research in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Internet-mediated research is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Epidemiology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Internet-mediated research outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Internet-mediated research in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Internet-mediated research means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Internet-mediated research out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Internet-mediated research in simple terms?

Why does Internet-mediated research matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Internet-mediated research?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Internet-mediated research.