In this paper we discussed the possibilities and challenges of internet surveys or online surveys in the social sciences. In particular, we focused our examination on the following points: What is the advantage of online surveys? Is the presence of online surveys increasing? What are the challenges of online surveys? What kind of acceptability conditions exist when using online survey data in academic research? As a result, although the number of online surveys being implemented has itself been increasing markedly, on the other hand it became clear that there are not yet necessarily many articles based on online survey data in academic research. One conceivable reason is concern related to sample representativeness. Looking at the articles printed in prestigious sociological journals that use online survey data, almost all were found to include supplemental accounts that justify the use of online surveys.

However, this is not to say that online surveys are completely ill-suited to academic purposes. Depending on the objectives of the research and survey, it is also conceivable that adopting an online survey may be optimal. It is likely that the possibilities of using online surveys can be cultivated by: carefully examining the theoretical significance and methodological validity of an approach that, 1） thoroughly evaluates the overall process of gathering data from online surveys with a total survey error framework and, 2）focusses on a populations that has been limited in line with the research objective.