Research Project Title: Internet Connectivity in Ireland

Client:  University of Ulster, Belfast

Study Background

Several research studies in 2000 indicated that Ireland was a ‘highly connected’ economy.  Some surveys indicated that use of email and Companies with websites was as high as 60% to 80%.  Dr Pat Ibbotson of the University of Ulster investigated some of these studies.  He found that the methodology employed did not stand up to rigorous testing. 

Some examples of this include:

• Insignificant sample base used
• Unrepresentative samples being extrapolated to the market
• Counting the number of employees with access to email rather than counting the number of Companies with access

It was concluded that many of these research studies were flawed.  It was decided to carry out a comprehensive study on the market.  A large sample covering twenty-two sectors and five different size of companies was determined to be the best approach, as this would yield unquestionable results.  As it was not practical to carry out such a research study, a large sample size of the market was deemed sufficient.

Objective

• To identify the number of companies in Ireland with email access
• To identify the number of companies in Ireland with an active web site

Date

Spring 2001

Length of Questionnaire

2 questions

Average length of time with respondent – 1.4 minutes

Collection Method

Data was collected using in-house computer aided telephone interviewing unit

Field Research Time

12 weeks

Sample Size

The sample was 10,000 companies in Ireland representative of twenty-two sectors and five employee classification categories.

Sample Frame

All companies in Ireland

Confidence level

+/- 2.5%

Analysis

Data was analysed using Access

Deliverables

Report covering the following

• Results from each question
• Cross tabulation of questions by sector and size of company
• Data tables

Publication of Results