The non-profit Pew Internet & American Life Project just released the findings from its second Internet usage survey. I found much of the data hard to believe, such as "Just 15% said they felt they sometimes felt overwhelmed by the amount of information they had," and "Just 5% said they encountered bad information in the course of carrying out their online research." I expected these numbers to be much higher.
Wow. I've got to get me some of their internets!
During my time at PwC I learned the importance of survey methodology. I looked at Pew's methodology and found the following, which may have something to do with the findings:
"In each contacted household [by phone], interviewers asked to speak with the youngest male currently at home. If no male was available, interviewers asked to speak with the oldest female at home. This systematic respondent selection technique has been shown to produce samples that closely mirror the population in terms of age and gender."
I hope future surveys will include the quality and impact of Internet-supported decisions.