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The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press is a nonprofit organization which has been conducting research on technology in the American home since 1994. Large-scale surveys that measure attitudes toward and use of electronic IT have been administered periodically over the past several years. Data are obtained through random digit dial telephone surveys, and tabulations for the most recent (1998) Technology Survey contain historical data for each question. This is a rich source of information on IT and the home, particularly as it relates to the actual use of IT. |
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| Time Period: |
1994–98 |
| Availability: |
Data tables are freely available on the Web. |
| Keywords: |
Computer ownership/Computer usage/Demographics/Internet access/Internet usage/Citizenship/Culture & values/Education/E-mail/Employment & work/Entertainment/Personal Finance/Privacy/Shopping |
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| Methodology: |
Purpose of Data Collection: To measure attitudes toward and use of electronic IT in the home. Survey Method: Random digit dial telephone survey with replacement sampling for nonresponse. Survey Design: The target population is all individuals 18 years or older residing in the continental United States. The sample for this survey is based on a geographically stratified, random digit dial of working banks of telephone numbers in the continental United States. Results for the 1998 Technology Survey are based on telephone interviews conducted with 3,184 adults in the last quarter of 1998. The survey included interviews with a national sample of all adults, and an oversample of 1,184 adults who use the Internet. Results were also drawn from a survey of a nationwide sample of 1,201 adults conducted in December 1998. Respondent weights are created to adjust for nonresponse. Demographic weighting parameters are used to adjust the data to make responses representative of U.S. households with adults 18 years or older. Data on sample size and response rates are not readily available. Variables Collected: Highly detailed questions/response categories on computer and Internet access, use, and types of use. Limited demographic data are presented; only educational status, employment status, and political party affiliation are shown in the data. Statistical Reliability: For survey results based on the general public (N = 2,000), the confidence level is 95 percent with error attributable to sampling and other random effects of ±3 percentage points. For results based on Internet users only (N = 1,993) or Internet users who go on-line for news (N = 1,390), sampling error is ±3 percentage points. For results based on Internet users who go on-line for election news (N = 315), sampling error is ±6 percentage points. For results based on subsamples of either the general public or Internet users, sampling error is ±3.5 percentage points. Note that in addition to sampling error, question wording and logistical difficulties in conducting surveys can also introduce error or bias into the findings. More detail on survey methodology is at http://www.people-press.org/tech98que.htm. |
| Notes: |
(1) The text of survey questions is available on-line at http://www.people-press.org/tech98que.htm. (2) The Pew Research Center has five key research themes, one of which is Technology in the American Home, which focuses on IT. Related survey questions appear in many of the dozens of surveys the center conducts, so it is difficult to isolate a single survey series that contains appropriate data. The data tables for the 1998 Technology Survey contain data for all previous times that an individual question may have been asked, so to this extent the reported findings contain comparable historical data. |
| Contact Info: |
The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press |
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