Using the Internet for primary research is really a new concept, says Rowen. In general, Market Street works for clients in the health care, banking and high-tech and software industries. For one client, a major teaching hospital, Rowen says Market Street used e-mail to survey physicians, who are generally hard to reach by other means. Many doctors use e-mail to communicate with each other and with other people within the organization. The researcher poses questions to the group.
Participants respond by typing in answers through their home computers.
The information researchers get from each is very different, says Rowen. Data from on-line focus groups tends to be less detailed. It's a lot slower than talking, no matter how well you type. However, it does give people the opportunity to look at what other people have said and reflect on it. A lot of companies see the Web as a potential source of revenue.