The value of mixed-method longitudinal panel studies in ict research

Abstract

This paper uses a unique British three-wave longitudinal dataset to examine the rates of transitions into and out of ‘ICT poverty’ defined as having Internet access in the household and/or having a mobile phone. This serves three purposes: it shows that many are still ‘passing by’ ICT ownership, that ‘gaining ICT’ access is not a one-way street – many just pass through; and that the rates of dropping out differ for different ICTs and for different groups of people. This has implications for both commercial and public policy strategy. It also shows the value of longitudinal approaches to data collection without which this kind of analysis would be impossible.

Keywords:

• poverty
• digital divide
• longitudinal panel
• transitions
• churn
• Internet
• mobile phone

Acknowledgements

The Home OnLine project was funded by British Telecommunications plc. This paper has benefited from discussions with Malcolm Brynin, Roger Burrows and other participants of the iCS/OII Internet Research Symposium held in September 2002 at Balliol College, Oxford where the results were first presented.

Notes

1. Bearing in mind that household Internet access in 1998 was roughly 24 per cent.

2. We do not include income due to item non-response.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ben Anderson

Ben Anderson is Deputy Director of Chimera at the University of Essex. Originally trained as a biologist, he is now interested in the study of the co-adaptation of people, culture and technology through longitudinal qualitative and quantitative analysis. Before joining the University of Essex he was a Senior Research Scientist at BT where he led a programme of strategic social science research funded both by BT and the European Commission.