The State of Internet-Related Research in Communications, Marketing, and Advertising: 1994-2003

This study analyzes trends, patterns, and rigorousness in research studies about the Internet through a content analysis of published Internet-related papers in 15 major journals in communications, marketing, and advertising between 1994 and 2003. Five hundred thirty seven papers of 4,050 total papers in the 15 journals (13.3%) were about the Internet. The results of this study demonstrate a definite pattern of increase in Internet research, the existence of a wide dispersion of individual and institutional contributors, a need for a more explicit theoretical framework, and a need for better methodological rigors in Internet research. In terms of topical coverage, this study concludes that Internet research deals with diverse research topics, but has not quite reached the last phase of Wimmer and Dominick's (2002) media developmental model (i.e., how we can improve the Internet).