Kentucky State University
Using the Internet to Increase African American Participation in Psychological Research
Institution
Kentucky State University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Tamara L. Brown
Abstract
Currently, few psychological studies involve adequate numbers of African Americans as research participants. This is unfortunate because their lack of involvement limits the generalizability of the findings from psychological studies. The question this study sought to begin to answer is whether researchers can increase African American participation in psychology research by using the Internet. To begin to answer this question, we compared the quality of data collected through in-person surveys to that collected through Internet surveys using measures of participants' alcohol use, alcohol expectancies, and sensation seeking. Results showed that there were no significant differences between data collected via in-person surveys and that collected via the Internet. Though more research is needed, this finding suggests that using web-based studies might be a way to include African Americans in psychological research.
Using the Internet to Increase African American Participation in Psychological Research
Currently, few psychological studies involve adequate numbers of African Americans as research participants. This is unfortunate because their lack of involvement limits the generalizability of the findings from psychological studies. The question this study sought to begin to answer is whether researchers can increase African American participation in psychology research by using the Internet. To begin to answer this question, we compared the quality of data collected through in-person surveys to that collected through Internet surveys using measures of participants' alcohol use, alcohol expectancies, and sensation seeking. Results showed that there were no significant differences between data collected via in-person surveys and that collected via the Internet. Though more research is needed, this finding suggests that using web-based studies might be a way to include African Americans in psychological research.