What is Internet?

The internet, which is a vast global network of computers connecting people and information, has opened up tremendous possibilities for advancing research and expanding the realm of business opportunities throughout the world. Because the internet connects us worldwide, any needed research data can be collected from any country through the internet. For Example, customer preferences for packaging a product can be determined and pricing strategies developed for each country. if so desired.

If we want industry information or published materials on any topic of interest, the internet comes in handy. We can easily download secondary data and print them, for leisurely examination. We can also conduct computer-interactive surveys very efficiently with huge global audiences, where the computer will sequence and personalize the questions as we would desire (skip questions and ask appropriate follow-up information). This will require that the respondent at the other end has access to a computer and is willing to respond. The representativeness of the sample will also be compromised. Companies regarding online surveys offer specialized services to conduct internet surveys for firms that need information of a confidential nature, as for example, the effectiveness of supervisors; computer-assisted telephone interviews can also be conducted to gather data.

The marketing, finance, accounting, sales, and other departments of a company can and do use the internet frequently for their research. In the business environment, desktop computers can be connected to local area network (LAN), which in turn, could be hooked to the internet by a high speed line. This would help several individual employees to gain simultaneous access to central information. The LAN enables the employees with computers in close proximity to share information resources and files, and helps schedule, monitor, and process data from remote location.

Business research can proceed using the internet and search engines, even where sources of information on a particular topic are not readily known. Search engines are software programs designed to help the search on World Wide Web. By keying in the important (key) words that describe the topic in some fashion, the user can address the search engine to suggest the best possible “links” (sites with the requested information) and access them directly to review the needed data. AltaVista and Google are two such search engines put to frequent use.