The Internet as a scientific tool for studying leisure activities: exploratory Internet data collection

Abstract

There are times when researchers want to examine sizeable set of leisure activities, often those pursued by a particular demographic category or those grouped according a particular theoretic classification. Yet, conventional qualitative methods are poorly suited to gathering the broad range of data they require for this purpose. These methods are too labour‐intensive, while quantitative surveys, if they are to be effective, are limited to known populations which can be properly sampled. But the need to gather data on sets of leisure activities persists; for considering all the leisure activities pursued in the world today, we have some, not even full, ethnographic knowledge of only a very small proportion. One way to solve this problem is through exploratory Internet data collection (EIDC): searching the Internet for exploratory qualitative data on large sets of leisure activities. The nature of the data found on the Internet and the sources there in which these data may be found are discussed. The Internet can be a rich source of descriptive, ethnographic, data. The advantages and disadvantages of EIDC are considered. Nine types of Internet data are set out. The issues of ethics and author copyright are also addressed. Most of the information gathered through EIDC is unavailable elsewhere, or available only in very limited fashion.