ABSTRACT
The Internet has seen rapid growth in recent years, and the implications of this growth for sports research are enormous. This chapter will outline the potential uses, and dangers, of the Internet as a research resource. The World Wide Web contains a vast amount of information, some useful, most irrelevant. Theobald and Dunsmore (2000) have estimated that in January 2000 there were over 40 million web sites, with further information being added at an astounding rate. One consequence is that much of the information relevant to the sports researcher is hidden away, and difficult to locate. The researcher may waste a great deal of time trying to locate relevant sites, with no guarantee of success. Secondly, the accessibility of the Internet means that anyone with the appropriate technical skills and equipment can publish on it, and therefore there is no guarantee of quality. This chapter will give a brief overview of using the Internet to provide some guidance for the researcher in finding relevant information.
