title: Internet addiction: metasynthesis of 1996-2006 quantitative research.
abstract: This study reports the results of a meta-analysis of empirical studies on Internet addiction published in academic journals for the period 1996-2006. The analysis showed that previous studies have utilized inconsistent criteria to define Internet addicts, applied recruiting methods that may cause serious sampling bias, and examined data using primarily exploratory rather than confirmatory data analysis techniques to investigate the degree of association rather than causal relationships among variables. Recommendations are provided on how researchers can strengthen this growing field of research.
authors.affiliation: College of Business Administration, Kwangwoon University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Sookeun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Byun
authors.forename: Celestino
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ruffini
authors.forename: Juline E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.forename: Alecia C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Douglas
authors.forename: Mamadou
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niang
authors.forename: Svetlana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stepchenkova
authors.forename: Seul Ki
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jihad
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Loutfi
authors.forename: Jung-Kook
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Mikhail
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Atallah
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blanton
mesh_terms: D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012106:Research / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015983:Selection Bias