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Topic familiarity and information skills in online credibility evaluation

Author

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  • Teun Lucassen
  • Rienco Muilwijk
  • Matthijs L. Noordzij
  • Jan Maarten Schraagen
Abstract
With the rise of user‐generated content, evaluating the credibility of information has become increasingly important. It is already known that various user characteristics influence the way credibility evaluation is performed. Domain experts on the topic at hand primarily focus on semantic features of information (e.g., factual accuracy), whereas novices focus more on surface features (e.g., length of a text). In this study, we further explore two key influences on credibility evaluation: topic familiarity and information skills. Participants with varying expected levels of information skills (i.e., high school students, undergraduates, and postgraduates) evaluated Wikipedia articles of varying quality on familiar and unfamiliar topics while thinking aloud. When familiar with the topic, participants indeed focused primarily on semantic features of the information, whereas participants unfamiliar with the topic paid more attention to surface features. The utilization of surface features increased with information skills. Moreover, participants with better information skills calibrated their trust against the quality of the information, whereas trust of participants with poorer information skills did not. This study confirms the enabling character of domain expertise and information skills in credibility evaluation as predicted by the updated 3S‐model of credibility evaluation.

Suggested Citation

  • Teun Lucassen & Rienco Muilwijk & Matthijs L. Noordzij & Jan Maarten Schraagen, 2013. "Topic familiarity and information skills in online credibility evaluation," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 64(2), pages 254-264, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jamist:v:64:y:2013:i:2:p:254-264
    DOI: 10.1002/asi.22743
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    Cited by:

    1. McLean, Graeme & Osei-Frimpong, Kofi, 2019. "Chat now… Examining the variables influencing the use of online live chat," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 55-67.
    2. Devan Ray Donaldson & Paul Conway, 2015. "User conceptions of trustworthiness for digital archival documents," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 66(12), pages 2427-2444, December.
    3. Wonchan Choi, 2020. "Older adultsʼ credibility assessment of online health information: An exploratory study using an extended typology of web credibility," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 71(11), pages 1295-1307, November.

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