Method
A random sample of 800 Michigan State University (MSU) undergraduate students
was retrieved from the MSU registrar’s office. All 800 students were sent an email
invitation from one of the authors, with a short description of the study, information
1148Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12 (2007) 1143–1168 ª 2007 International Communication Association
about confidentiality and incentives, and a link to the survey. Two reminder emails
were sent to those who had not responded. Participants were compensated with a $5
credit to their on-campus spending accounts