Assessments of Information Quality: Does the Medium Matter?

As the amount of information available through the Internet has exploded, users have come to depend on the Internet as a source of information. This study will improve our understanding of how users perceive the quality of this information. The study addresses a limitation of prior research by examining users’ evaluations of the information quality of specific documents available on the web and in print. A repeated measures design is used to examine the question of whether the publication medium (print-based versus web-based) affects users’ perceptions of the quality of information. The study also examines differences in users’ evaluations as author credibility varies. The findings of the study will have implications for decisions about media choice.