German Society for Online Research

Online research is a dynamic, innovative field, with constantly emerging challenges as well as opportunities for research and practice. The German Society for Online Research/Deutsche Gesellschaft für Online Forschung (DGOF) is a modern, innovative association, which has focused on the interests of the actors in the field of online research since its establishment in 1998. It is the association’s goal to be the leader in this field. DGOF seeks to bridge different research fields (such as sociology, psychology, political science, economics, market and opinion research, data science) using online research methods and facilitates the transfer between academic research and the industry. DGOF campaigns for the establishment and the development of online research as well as the interests of online researchers in Germany. Online research ranges from online based data collection methods (e.g., web surveys in online panels); to mobile research with smartphones, tablets, and wearables; to the collection and analysis of social media data, administrative data, data from passive measurements, and other big data sources. DGOF organizes the General Online Research (GOR) conference and the Research Plus event series which support professional and collegial exchanges between researchers and practitioners across academia and the industry. By bringing together scientific findings, commercial needs, and practical applications for best practices, DGOF provides a sustainable input for further developments in online research. Change through innovation is a key characteristic of our research field.