Non-probability sampling for WWW surveys : a comparison of methods

A study reports the findings of a comparison between different non-probability sampling methods applied in a World Wide Web-user-survey. Respondents were recruited in 4 different ways, namely a one-page press release in a weekly business news magazine, newsgroup postings, hyperlinks from other Web sites and an e-mailing. The results indicate the following: 1. Newsgroup postings and e-mailings generate very high speed response. 2. All non-probability sampling methods possess different caveats which force researchers to apply them cautiously. 3. The recruitment methods generate responses of equal quality and completeness, 4. The various recruitment methods are not suited for generating stable results concerning demographic and webographic dimensions of the WWW-user population. 5. The complementary sampling methods allow useful inferences about Web users' attitudes towards the WWW to be made.