Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Accessing data sets online
Datasets may also originate from agencies such as the Census Bureau, the World
Bank, the Department of Health and Human Services, or other research think-tank
data banks for secondary research purposes. These data may be in the form of text
files, or may be structured application data such as MS Excel data or many others.
There are a number of ways in which research is conducted through the col-
lection of online data. In some instances, quantitative information may be avail-
able. In other cases, research may be on user habits derived through the analysis
of user statistics. It's important to note, however, that this type of research is cur-
rently subject to debate regarding privacy laws as evidenced by the release of user
data by America Online (AOL) and the subsequent backlash (e.g. Kirk, 2006). In
other instances, web page content is analyzed for any number of purposes.
Images, sounds, videos and text all represent types of data that could be useful for
certain types of studies. In addition, many data sources are readily available
online, making the internet a potential gold mine for quantitative analysis. One
significant catch to culling online statistics, however, is finding sources. To that
end, Genie Tyburski, in “Unearthing Statistical Data on the Internet: Effective
Research Strategies,” offers helpful hints and insights for online data searches
(http://www.llrx.com/columns/stats.htm); http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/
EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,menuPK:232599~pagePK:64133170~piPK:
64133498~theSitePK:239419,00.html; or http://www.imf.org/external/data.htm.
Before discussing details of downloading and managing data found on the
internet, there are a few questions that typically need to be asked about online
data. There are obvious questions for a researcher to address, such as whether
or not s/he is comfortable with the quality of the data for the purposes for which
they will be used. But first and foremost is the question of whether or not data
found on the internet should be treated as in public domain. Does the availabil-
ity of information online imply fair use? What is often referenced in discussions
on this topic is legality. The implication is that if the use of data is legal, then the
use is acceptable. Outside of the ethical questions related to this topic, there are
also copyright restrictions.
Though copyright regulations vary from country to country and can be a
source of contention in international economic and political dialog, there are
some general rules from which any researcher would benefit. On a basic level,
Steven Imparl suggests that it is prudent to avoid any type of copyright
infringement (2006: 3-52). In his
Internet Law: The Complete Guide
, he sug-
gests that all forms of internet communication be treated as protected, which
would include email, postings on mailing lists, interactive chats, web content,
graphics, sounds, videos, communication by internet phone or video confer-
encing and e-book. He further advises users to “obtain written permission from
the copyright owner for any material on the Internet that you wish to copy or
use.” Outside of obtaining written permission, which may not always be possi-
ble, it is good practice to give credit and reference for all information obtained
on the internet.
