HyperPsych - Resources for medicine and psychology in the World Wide Web

Progress in the research of interactive communication technology and the acceleration of processing and transmitting information have promoted the development of computer networks allowing global access to scientific information and services. The recently most well-known net is the Internet. Based on its integrative structure as a communication-directed as well as an information-directed medium, the Internet helps researchers design scientific research. Especially medicine and psychology as information-dependent scientific disciplines may profit by using this technological offer. As a method to coordinate to the vast amount of medical and psychological data around the globe and to communicate with researchers world-wide, it enhances innovative possibilities for research, diagnosis and therapy. Currently, the World Wide Web is regarded as the most user-friendly and practical of all the internet resources. Based on a systematic introduction to the applications of the WWW, this article discusses relevant resources, points out possibilities and limits of network-supported scientific research and proposes many uses of this new medium.