ABSTRACT
The only way to learn about people’s thoughts concerning public issues, their experiences in using public services, or their perceptions about their community is to ask. Researchers also sometimes ask people to self-report about their behavior. While the responses may not be accurate, asking people is often the easiest way to collect such data. For example, to find out how much time adults spend playing video games, researchers will have to ask them. While it is not impossible to create some sort of cyber-monitoring program, it would be costly and not foolproof.
