Challenges in Creating a Data Set by Using Online Information: Analyzing Online Dating Personal Ads

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-20-2024

Department 1

Sociology

Abstract

This project’s goal was to examine whether people placing online personal ads in Singapore explicitly stated that they wanted children. With the Singapore government’s concern about the country’s low fertility rate in recent years, we wanted to find out whether these advertisers emphasized their desire for children in a relationship. As part of a statistics course assignment, we created a data set from SingaporeCupid.com. With this approach, there was no in-person interactions between advertisers and their audience or with researchers. As such, advertisers’ willingness to share their preferences was not affected by potential in-person awkwardness, judgment, or rejection. In this case study, I discuss major considerations and choices that we had to make as we extracted the information from the website. This case study is intended for researchers with basic computing skills. I paid special attention to the selection of websites and best practices to ensure that information from the website could address the research question and meet ethical standards.

DOI

10.4135/9781529684117

ISBN/ISSN

9781529684117

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