As the aim of the proposed research is to understand the deception and safety in the online dating industry, the type of inquiry needed lends itself to a mixed-method approach which involves analyzing and integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches. The research proposes two studies that will complement each other.
The first study uses survey methodology, a quantitative method. The study is looking for relationship between high level of deception and low level of safety in the online dating industry. The questionnaire (survey) is internet-based which consists of 20 items regarding the different behaviors towards the online dating industry. The questionnaire consists of two factors: deception (e.g., I have used photographs of another person (or of multiple people) as myself on an online dating site) and safety (e.g., I have felt unsafe using an online dating site). For the first 5 items, the response scale used was a Likert Scale: 1 (never); 2 (occasionally); 3 (every time). For the next 5 items, the response scale used a Likert Scale: 1
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Deception is a composite measure of level of prevalence and the usage of over-exaggeration on online dating profiles. The variable was computed by adding the questions 1-5 (See Appendix A for information on the survey design). Deception is a composite measure where the higher the number, the more deception is prevalent. Safety is a measure of level of confidence in safety in the online dating industry. The variable was computed by adding the questions 6-10 (See Appendix A for information on the survey design). Safety is a composite measure where the lower number indicates less confidence in safety in the online dating industry. The sample consisted of 400 online daters, who have subscribed to at least one of the three popular online dating services, eharmony.com, match.com and zoosk.com. The participants in this study ranged from 18 to 28 years