Abstract
Internet search has become the most common way that people deal with issues and problems in everyday life. The wide use of Internet search has largely changed the way people search for and store information. There is a growing interest in the impact of Internet search on users’ affect, cognition, and behavior. Thus, it is essential to develop a tool to measure the changes in psychological characteristics as a result of long-term use of Internet search. The aim of this study is to develop a Questionnaire on Internet Search Dependence (QISD) and test its reliability and validity. We first proposed a preliminary structure and items of the QISD based on literature review, supplemental investigations, and interviews. And then, we assessed the psychometric properties and explored the factor structure of the initial version via exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The EFA results indicated that four dimensions of the QISD were very reliable, i.e., habitual use of Internet search, withdrawal reaction, Internet search trust, and external storage under Internet search. Finally, we tested the factor solution obtained from EFA through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results of CFA confirmed that the four dimensions model fits the data well. In all, this study suggests that the 12-item QISD is of high reliability and validity and can serve as a preliminary tool to measure the features of Internet search dependence.
Highlights
The advent of the Internet, with powerful and diverse search engines, has made it much easier than in the past to access information
This study aimed to develop a questionnaire with proper dimensions and good validity for measuring features of Internet search dependence, which we hope will be a practical tool for future studies to further explore Internet search dependence
This study aimed to develop a psychometric tool to measure psychological characteristics of Internet search dependence and tested the validity and reliability of the questionnaire
Summary
The advent of the Internet, with powerful and diverse search engines, has made it much easier than in the past to access information. As the Internet has become an essential tool in our daily life, it is important to notice that people are susceptible to the unprecedented Internet search environment [1,2,3]. The majority of population spends many hours per day on the Internet and become increasingly dependent on the Internet search to meet various needs [3, 4]. There has been a growing interest in the affective, cognitive, and behavioral changes as a result of Internet search [5, 6], empirical studies are still lacking. Further studies are needed to investigate the impact of Internet search on users’ psychological characteristics
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