Beyond a basic understanding of how widely diffused personal computers and Internet linkages have become in the United States, our knowledge of the implications of IT for the home is limited. We have yet to model and explain the IT adoption dynamics of the mid- to late 1990s, and still have no real sense of the impacts of IT on the home.[5] Data that reliably explain national patterns of computer and Internet access and use originate from six institutions (table 1), three of which are commercial market research organizations.[6] Of the eight major datasets available for national analysis (appendix A), five focus almost exclusively on the Internet. There is thus less immediate attention on the role and purpose of personal computing in the home, and a near total neglect of computing/information media such as interactive CD-ROMs and educational and entertainment software.
Investigation of potential sources of data for analyzing access to, and use of, IT in the home yielded few resources that could be used to generate statistically valid findings that could be generalized across the United States. Few publicly available data collection efforts represent national probability samples, which seriously limits the degree to which conclusions can be drawn about the U.S. population. In all, six sources of data can be used to describe American patterns of IT adoption and use in the home. These sources, together with a description of the data they collect, are presented in table 1. (The methodology for constructing this data resource inventory and more detailed descriptions of available data are presented in appendix A.) Table 1 also includes a survey focused on public attitudes toward science and technology (as opposed to acquisition and use of technology) that also asks some questions about IT access and use.
As noted, three of the six institutions are commercial market research firms. Prices for their IT data are relatively costly, although they vary considerably, ranging from $1,500 to $10,000 for a single year or single dataset. While publicly available, the expense of these datasets may inhibit scholarly research; moreover, because the data are proprietary, it is unlikely that highly detailed analyses may be published or otherwise reported in the public domain.
These data resources pose other limitations as well. For example, although a rich source of information, Georgia Tech's World Wide Web (WWW) User Survey is a nonprobability sample and cannot be used to make statistical inferences to the U.S. population. Also, only the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and the Bureau of the Census collect detailed data on home computing. Unfortunately, neither of these organizations field their surveys on a routine basis, so there is no predictable and reliable source of national data on home computer access or use; this is particularly problematic given the rapid diffusion of PCs over the past several years.
Most of the data resources derive from national, random digit dial telephone surveys that yield national probability samples. Such methods can, however, generate different estimates of home IT use. Summaries of random digit dial techniques can be found in Clemente (1998) and Riccobono (1986). Hoffman, Kalsbeek, and Novak (1996) provide a detailed comparison and discussion of the methods and estimates generated by the CommerceNet/Nielsen Internet Demographic Survey, the American Internet User Survey, and the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press' IT in the American Home Survey.[7] The computer and Internet supplements to the Current Population Survey (CPS) are the only national probability samples that do not derive from telephone sampling frames; household samples are based on the actual 1990 census. All of these surveys collect a variety of detailed information related to user demographics and Internet (or computer) usage patterns; Internet data are particularly focused on types of use (e-mail versus other services) and intensity of use (frequency and duration of access). Only the CPS has traditionally collected data related to respondents' race/ethnicity.[8]
In sum, the ability to do a comprehensive analysis of access to, and use of, IT in the home is hampered by two crucial factors: the absence of routine, detailed data collection on home computers and computing; and a bias toward proprietary databases with limited publication potential. The one Internet survey that is conducted regularly and freely available, the WWW User Survey, is a nonprobability sample; it also lacks the detail and depth of the commercial surveys. The CPS computer and Internet supplements and the Pew surveys on technology in the American home have good potential as comprehensive sources of home computer and Internet data, but neither set of surveys is conducted regularly. In addition, neither the CPS or Pew survey items explicitly address the outcomes or impacts of IT in the home; the data collected are largely descriptive and are not focused on the consequences of IT use.
The literature on the impacts of IT in the home can be organized into three broad categories:
In general, this analysis excluded philosophical and speculative literature. It identified 30 major conceptual and empirical works related to the adoption and impacts of IT in the home. Appendix B presents a methodological overview and annotated bibliography of these works; a subject bibliography is presented in appendix C. The empirical literature is summarized briefly below; the conceptual literature is synthesized in the following section.
The empirical research comprises three distinctive types of studies. One group of studies attempts to measure overall diffusion and adoption rates of IT in the home (Clemente 1998, Hoffman, Kalsbeek, and Novak 1996, NTIA 1995, and NTIA 1998). Another group of studies can be characterized as research on the early adoption of home computers dating to the early to mid-1980s (Caron, Giroux, and Douzou 1989; Dickerson and Gentry 1983; Giacquinta, Bauer, and Levin 1993; McQuarrie 1989; Riccobono 1986; and Vitalari, Venkatesh, and Gronhaug 1985). A third body of research focuses almost exclusively on Internet adoption patterns and usage behaviors (Clemente 1998; Egger and Rauterberg 1996; Hill and Hughes 1998; Hoffman and Novak 1998; Katz and Aspden 1997; Kraut et al. 1996; Kraut, Lunmark et al. 1998; and Kraut, Mukhopadhyay et al. 1998). The major empirical works identified by this study are presented in table 2, together with a brief description of their purpose, research dates, methods, and ability to be generalized to a population outside their sample frames.
Two major research programs are currently under way that directly pertain to the adoption and impacts of IT in the home. The HomeNet study based at Carnegie Mellon University is a longitudinal study of approximately 100 families and their Internet use. The participating families were given subsidized computers, free Internet access, and computer/Internet training as a way of eliminating the socioeconomic and technical barriers to home IT access and use. Data are collected from a variety of surveys, home interviews, and electronic logs; although they cannot be generalized to the U.S. population as a whole, the HomeNet findings are nonetheless highly suggestive of American Internet behaviors. For more information, see Kraut et al. (1996) and the HomeNet home page at http://homenet.andrew.cmu.edu/progress/.
The second study is the National Outlook for Automation in the Home (NOAH), conducted by the Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations at the University of California—Irvine. Project NOAH has two phases; the first was a 2-year longitudinal study of computer owners; the second, which is currently under way, is primarily focused on assessing the use of new IT and media in the home and their impacts on family and work life. For more detail, see the Project NOAH home page at http://www.crito.uci.edu/noah/.
[5] While a certain amount of insightful research was conducted on adoption dynamics in the early 1980s, this describes early adopter behaviors only.
[6] There are three other commercial research firms that provide data on IT in the home—the NPD Group, PC Meter, and Media Metrix. These are not included here for reasons related to their documentation and generalizability (appendix A).
[7] Hoffman, Kalsbeek, and Novak find that most differences in these survey estimates can be accounted for by how Internet use is defined in the survey and how population measures are weighted.
[8] The CommerceNet/Nielsen Internet Demographic Survey began collecting race/ethnicity data in 1997.
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