Mobile research: Benefits, applications, and outlooks

Abstract

With the growth of the Internet, online surveys have enabled researchers to shorten the data collection and analysis cycle. While online survey is well-suited for collecting structured data and identifying relationships between variables, it's limited in providing immediacy and context. The prevalence of smartphones is enabling researchers to capture more context and minimize time lag between customer experience and data collection. This paper will discuss the merits, limitations, and application of mobile research, using a BlackBerry apps study as an example. Applications for different industries will also be discussed. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.