In my research I chose to gather data from a survey that I created. My survey focused on questions that revolve around Internet habits among college students. I chose this type of data because I wanted to see what motivations students have for using the Internet. Also, surveys induce self-reflection causing people to really think about questions they normally wouldn’t contemplate. I especially wanted to analyze students’ awareness of their own Internet use and evaluate its addictive qualities. I collected this data by creating a 15-question survey on using SurveyMonkey, then I sent out a message on Facebook only inviting those friends who are college students. I also sent out my survey to our Sociology 149 class via Camino.
Prior to collecting my data I recognized that I have to be careful about who is going to participate in my survey. I wanted to only focus my research on college students which made things difficult because I had to sift through the people I know who could fit this criteria. Rather than leaving the survey out in public for anyone to take, I made sure to specifically share my survey with those who are college students. Initially I was not going to ask our sociology class to take the survey because their answers might be skewed since they, too, have to work on this project. But then I realized that each project is so different that my peers would not be able to make biased responses since they do not fully know what my research is about.
For the sake of research ethics I included an informed consent message at the beginning of my survey. I wanted people to know that their identity was being protected so that they could freely respond to the survey. Also, I made sure that people did not feel that taking the survey was a hassle. They are free to take it whenever is most convenient. I obtained informed consent by using the following message :
I am requesting your participation in a brief survey. All information is anonymous. No names or identifying information is being collected or will be used. Your participation in this study is voluntary. If you choose not to participate or do not wish to answer some or all of the questions you are free to leave them blank. You may stop taking the survey at any time, for any reason.
Thank you!
My survey was as follows:
1. What is your gender?
2. What is your age?
3. On a scale of 1-4, 1 being the least, 4 being the most, how satisfied are you having the following per day:
| Least | Most | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 min. of Internet use | ||||
| 30 min. of Internet use | ||||
| 1 hour of Internet use | ||||
| 2+ hours of Internet use |
4. On a scale of 1-4, how well do you feel that you manage your time, in regard to Internet usage?
| Poorly | Very Well | ||
|---|---|---|---|
5. Do you find yourself using the Internet for more, less or exactly the amount of time you intended to when you first start?
6. What is your frequency of Internet usage each day after completing homework?
7. From the following, which describe your reason for using the Internet?
8. At what age did you first have Internet access at home?
9. How many hours per week did you use the Internet as a high school student?
10. How many hours per week do you spend on the Internet as a college student?
11. How many hours per day are you online for pleasure/entertainment?
12. What websites or applications do you mostly use online? Why?
13. What is the most positive factor of the Internet from the following:
14. What is the most negative factor of the Internet from the following:
15. Aside from school work, are there other activities that you are involved in? What are they? How many hours per week do you devote to this?