A New Cadre of Publishers With a cheap desktop PC, an Internet connection, and a web-hosting service, anyone can now be a provider of information to the masses at amazingly low cost. No more page limits, margin or font sizes to worry about. All you need is something to say, a few website development tools, and an imaginative way of presenting your information on the Internet. New web-based newsletters and journals are cropping up throughout academe every month, as faculty worldwide learn to make use of this mode of publishing their work. Much like the introduction of the printing press years ago, the impact of the Internet on information distribution has been enormous.
More websites means more information at our fingertips.
In the United States, students are turning increasingly to the web as a primary source of information previously only obtainable at their school library. The same information available to students in the United States is available to Internet-connected students and scholars in other countries as well. Of particular interest, college and university libraries worldwide are offering an increasing amount of information over the web. Students at a small rural college with a poorly stocked library can now find virtually any reference resource they need through the web. Gathering Research Data With the development and proper use of web-based surveys, a researcher can collect data from an international population of subjects.