Impact of the Length of Reviews on Online Purchases

One of the hardest things I have done in my academic career is deciding to do a thesis. People give me the worst looks when I tell them I am starting my thesis this summer, and they are in the program. It’s not the normal road, but the electives offered in this program are too off base of my current goals and career path. A thesis allows me to focus on Internet marketing and help my community by using university resources to do research.

In one of my courses this semester, the class got to talking about product reviews and one said something that knocked me to the ground (figuratively). He said that he trusted the long, well documented reviews more than the less formal, shorter reviews. Makes sense in that it has more information and well thought out, but we all know that people do not have attention spans on the Internet. That comment was followed with the opposite point by another gentleman. It spurred my attention and I started to research what had been developed.

There has not been any research specifically on the length of a review and its impact on purchases that I can find currently. There are going to be other variables that I will need to consider like the cost of the product and the emotion related to the review (positive/negative) but this is the start of it. I will spend my summer doing research and (hopefully) making contacts with people who can provide data on reviews and purchases online (*cough*Amazon*cough*).

<plea>If you know anyone, and can make the connection, I will buy you a drink at the next conference, or find someway to make sure you understand how much I appreciate your help. </plea>

So what comments do you have about my topic? Ideas, thoughts, things you want me to research specifically? I want this to be helpful to the community as a whole not just complete my degree. So any feedback is greatly appreciated!