May/June 2004 Tracking Survey

Final Topline, 6/22/04

Data for May 14 – June 17, 2004

Princeton Survey Research Associates International for the Pew Internet & American Life Project

Sample: n = 2,200 adults 18 and older
Interviewing dates: 05.14.04 – 06.17.04

• Margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points for results based on the full sample
• Margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for results based on Internet users (N=1,399)

Please tell me if you ever do any of the following when you go online. Do you ever…/Did you happen to do this yesterday, or not?

Use an online search engine to help you find information on the web:

[N=1,399]

I have a few questions about how you use online search engines…

SE1  First, how often do you use search engines to find information online? Several times a day, about once a day, 3-5 days a week, 1-2 days a week, once every few weeks, or less often?

SE2  How many different search engines do you use on a regular basis? (READ 1-3)

SE3  Which search engine do you use MOST OFTEN?

SE4  How much do you, personally, rely on Internet search engines as a way of finding information? Would you say…

SE5   Thinking about your own Internet searches…  How much of the information you search for online is information that you absolutely NEED TO FIND, for instance to accomplish an important task or answer an urgent question you have?

SE6  How much of the information you search for online is information that you wouldn’t bother looking up if you didn’t have access to an Internet search engine?

SE7  In general, do you think Internet search engines are a fair and unbiased source of information, or do you think search engines are not a fair and unbiased source?

SE8  When you use a search engine to look for information online, how often do you actually FIND the information you’re looking for?

SE9  How confident do you feel about your own searching abilities when using a search engine to find information online?