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Measuring Credibility Assessment Targets in Web-Based Information

Measuring Credibility Assessment Targets in Web-Based Information
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Author(s): James D. Colins (Missouri Southern State University, USA)
Copyright: 2006
Pages: 4
Source title: Emerging Trends and Challenges in Information Technology Management
Source Editor(s): Mehdi Khosrow-Pour, D.B.A. (Information Resources Management Association, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59904-019-6.ch003
ISBN13: 9781616921286
EISBN13: 9781466665361

Abstract

This research consisted of two separate, but inter-related studies. In Study 1, a rating scale, called the Web Credibility Scale, was created to measure the credibility of a Web page. This scale improves the precision of measuring the credibility of Web pages by offering a replacement to the unvalidated scales currently in use [3]. Study 2 included the goal of learning more about credibility assessment targets [6]. This refers to the precise focus of user attention when evaluating the credibility of a Web page. Fogg and Tseng have postulated four targets of credibility assessment: on-screen characters, computer qua computer (the computer itself), brand (a corporation), and expert creator. However, their work does not address comparative magnitudes of influence between these four targets. The research in Study 2 compared two of the targets, brand and expert creator, in an experiment to discover which makes a greater contribution to credibility. Both studies used 100 to 200 participants, which should provide ample sample size [18]. Fogg and Tseng [6] provide little information on the characteristics of the credibility assessment targets postulated and they have not been investigated in later research [4, 5]. Consequently, the precise details on their definition are lacking other than brand refers to a corporation as the source of a Web page and expert creator refers to an individual as the source of a Web page. The difference between brand and expert creator seems to hinge on the fact that one is an institution and the other an individual.

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