Article,
Judgment of Information Quality and Cognitive Authority in the Web
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, (2002)
Abstract
authority is adifficult task for most users because overall, there is no quality control mechanism. This study examines the problem of the judgment of information quality and cognitive authority by observing people’s searching behavior in the Web. Its purpose is to understand the various factors that influence people’s judgmentofqualityandauthorityintheWeb,andtheeffects of those judgments on selection behaviors. Fifteen scholars from diverse disciplines participated, and data were collected combining verbal protocols during the searches,searchlogs,andpostsearchinterviews.Itwas foundthatthesubjectsmadetwodistinctkindsofjudgment: predictive judgment, and evaluative judgment. The factors influencing each judgment of quality and authority were identified in terms of characteristics of information objects, characteristics of sources, knowledge, situation, ranking in search output, and general assumption. Implications for Web design that will effectively support people’s judgments of quality and authority are also discussed.
