About Us

This report is built around the phone survey work of the Pew Internet & American Life Project done by our polling partner Princeton Survey Research Associates that focused on Internet users who look for health information online. The main survey for this report involved phone interviews with 500 “health seekers” in the summer of 2001. PSRA has done all the project’s surveys since its inception in January 2000, and its executives and staff have been our creative collaborators in every step of the project’s work.

This report also contains information and insights from two online focus groups that were put together by Harris Interactive.  The Medical Library Association contacted us after the release of our first report about online health information in November 2000 and has been an invaluable resource since then. Dr. Tom Ferguson, a senior research fellow at the Pew Internet Project, helped us to focus even more closely on the consumer experience and contributed key insights at every stage of research.

About the Pew Internet & American Life Project

The Pew Internet & American Life Project creates and funds original, academic-quality research that explores the impact of the Internet on children, families, communities, the workplace, schools, health care, and civic and political life. The project is an independent, nonpartisan organization that aims to be an authoritative source for timely information on the Internet’s growth and its impact on society. The project is fully funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

About Princeton Survey Research Associates

Princeton Survey Research Associates is an independent research company specializing in social and policy work. The firm designs, conducts, and analyzes surveys worldwide. Its expertise also includes qualitative research and content analysis. With offices in Princeton, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C., PSRA serves the needs of clients around the nation and the world. The firm can be reached at 911 Commons Way, Princeton, NJ 08540, by telephone at 609-924-9204, by fax at 609-924-7499, or by email at ResearchNJ@PSRA.com

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive (Nasdaq: HPOL) is a worldwide market research and consulting firm, best known for The Harris Poll and its pioneering use of the Internet to conduct scientifically accurate market research.  Strengthened by its recent merger with Total Research Corporation, the company now combines the power of technology with international expertise in predictive, custom, strategic research.  Headquartered in the United States, with offices in the United Kingdom, Japan and a global network of local market and opinion research firms, the company conducts international research with fluency in multiple languages. For more information about Harris Interactive, visit http://www.harrisinteractive.com/.

About the Medical Library Association

The Medical Library Association is an educational organization of professionals, providing quality information for improved health. Founded in 1898, MLA represents more than 1,100 institutions and 3,800 individual members in the health sciences information field. For more than a century the Medical Library Association has served society through its members and programs, by providing quality information for better health care, the education of health professionals, the conduct of research, and the public’s understanding of health care issues. Address: Medical Library Association, 65 East Wacker Place, Suite 1900, Chicago, IL 60601-7298. Phone: 312-419-9094.  Fax: 312-419-8950.  Web site: www.mlanet.org.  Email: info@mlahq.org