Keywords
E-business, E-health, E-society, Human Technology Interactions research
Themes
Internet studies involve a wide-ranging agenda of established disciplines, including psy
Geology, sociology, marketing, and communication. To what extent have Internet studies
Been engaged in these disciplines? Has Internet studies become an independent field of
Study or is it still an interdisciplinary subject area encompassing other fields (Bay,
2005)? Some researchers have debated the disciplinary nature of Internet studies.
Hunsinger, 2005; Jones, 2005; 2005. However, before addressing the disciple-
nary status of Internet studies, we require systematic and comprehensive information
About this emerging field.
Some efforts have been made to explore the state of art of Internet studies by focusing
On research themes and popular keywords within different timeframes. Kim and Weaver
(2002), Tomatillo et al. (2010), and Rice and Fuller (2013) examined the characteristics
Of Internet studies within one subject area (communication). CHO and Khan (2006)
Expanded the horizon to include studies in three subject areas communication,
advertising, and marketing.
Both Kim and Weaver (2002) and Tomatillo et al. (2010) found that Internet studies
have become more and more visible in the communication discipline during the respect.
Five timeframes that they have examined. Kim and Weaver (2002) found that law and
Policy issues concerning the Internet and use of the Internet were prominent research top-
Ics in Internet studies. Tomatillo et al. (2010) found that a small set of keyword terms
Internet, computer, digital, web/ and online was heavily used in the titles of
New media research. More recently, Rice and Fuller (2013) have reviewed the major Theo-
Retinal approaches for studying social aspects of the Internet. They found that the most
Frequent global themes in the study of communication and the Internet were social rela-
Tions, followed by media implications/use and understanding, participation, societal,
Media attributes, and general theory frameworks. By analyzing Internet studies published
in 15 journals in communication, marketing, and advertising between 1994 and 2003, CHO
and Khang (2006) found that there was a definite pattern of increase in Internet studies in
The examined timeframe. The authors observed that ‘Internet usage, perception, and atti
Tude toward the Internet’ CHO and Khang, 2006: 151) was the most popular topic.
Lievrouw et al. (2001) reviewed research carried out by members of Communication
and Technology (CAT) Division of the International Communication Association and
Identified several issues in CAT research as prominent, such as access and equity issues,
Flows of information and communication content, and applications of CAT in social
Interaction and education. By analyzing the papers presented at the annual conferences
of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) in 2003 and 2004, Rice (2005) identi-
fied two dimensions in AoIR research themes: one is the traditional dimension from
general social science research of ‘online/Internet/technology communication/commu-
nity at individual and cultural level’ to specific areas ‘ranging from public/political/user
The Development/process/design/knowledge’ (Rice, 2005: 293), and the other is a move-
Ment from specific usage and content realms to more general and abstract processes and
Concepts.
These reviews thus provide some information for understanding the problems and
Opportunities in Internet studies. However, these studies focused on a pre-determined list
Of journals or associations, which has obscured the interdisciplinary nature of Internet
Studies and which may ‘lead to ordering, memory, familiarity, anchoring, or selection
Biases’ (Polites and Watson, 2009: 597). As none of the established disciplines or asso-
Ciations can claim that their field is ‘just one academic realm concerned with the Internet’
(Rice, 2005: 286), a ‘bottom-up’ approach without any a priori categorization is
More appropriate for drawing a comprehensive knowledge map for Internet studies.
To fill this gap in the literature, the study aims to map the landscape of Internet studies
Without any pre-defined journals or disciplines. This is of particular value for delineating
The boundaries of Internet studies in a larger context and presenting first-hand and quan-
Titative understanding of the interactions between Internet studies and other established
Disciplines or other emerging fields. Specifically, the following research questions will
Be addressed:
RQ1: What is the state of art of Internet studies in general?
RQ2: What are the major themes in Internet studies?
RQ3: What are the popular keywords under each theme of Internet studies?
RQ4: How have these popular keywords evolved over time?
RQ5: What theoretical orientations and research methods are the most popular in
Internet studies?
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