I began my background research by using <https://www.google.com/> to conduct a search using "web browser statistics", 

"web browser reviews" , and "web browser reviews CNET" . The first search query about the web browser statistics caused

me to discover a website in which it stated the most popular web browsers, according to the federal government. <http://

www.zdnet.com/article/the-most-u-s-popular-web-browsers/> This gave me valuable information such as percentages

 of use per browser and data regarding different versions of certain browsers. Then, I noticed a hyperlink upon the words

 "Digital Analytics Program (DAP)" and so I clicked on it and I was brought to a government run program that offers advanced,

 easy Web analytics to federal agencies. <https://www.digitalgov.gov/services/dap/> I didn’t quite find what I was looking for

 but I used their search bar to look up "web browser". That search brought me to their article written by Tim Lowden on 

October 15, 2015 about Google Chrome becoming the most used web browser. <https://www.digitalgov.gov/2015/10/15/

gov-analytics-breakdown-1-browsers-chrome-takes-the-cake/>  

 

 

Mr. Lowden states, 

"If you were visiting a federal government website two years ago, the best odds were that you’d have been using Internet Explorer

 as your Internet browser. But today, that’s no longer the case. Within just the last year, Chrome has taken over the top spot as the

browser most used to view federal websites, according to data from the Digital Analytics Program (DAP), and it seems to show no

signs of slowing. 

 

We wanted to take a look at overall browser usage now that DAP has a few years of data, and the changes tell an interesting story.

 Here’s a breakdown of the percent of total sessions of the top five browsers during the last three years*: 

 

He then gave a rundown on each browser and why he believes their particular uses have increased, decreased, or remained steady. 

 

 

Next, I discovered internet browser software reviews thanks to Top Ten Reviews. <http://internet-browser-review.toptenrev

iews.com/> They provided many valuable visuals such as charts comparing speed and compatibility, features, security, help and

 support, and supported configurations. This gave me the idea that overall with a close second place is Firefox followed by Google

 Chrome. I the traveled over to CNET to look at their reviews. <http://www.cnet.com/forums/discussions/which-is-the-best-web-

browser-575133/> They had many customer reviews relating the relative browsers and ranking them according to different factors. 

 

 

Overall, I decided that, if a study has been done, the information generated is available to the general public thanks to the DAP.

Therefore, I can use my data collected to compare to that of the government to answer the questions guiding this study.