Making sense of credibility on the Web: Models for evaluating online information and recommendations for future research

communication and information literacy fields about the skills that Internet users need to assess the credibility of online information. The article reviews current recommendations for credibility assessment, empirical research on how users determine the credibility of Inter-net information, and describes several cognitive models of online information evaluation. Based on the literature review and critique of existing models of credibility assessment, recommendations for future online credibility education and practice are provided to assist users in locating reliable information online. The article concludes by offering ideas for research and theory development on this topic in an effort to advance knowledge in the area of credibility assessment of Internet-based information. Introduction In just the last two decades, the Internet has become integrated into our lives as an important, if not indispensable, tool for information and communication (Fallows, 2005). The plethora of information available online, coupled with heavy reliance on the Internet by information seekers raise issues of the credibility or quality of information found online. Credibility in this context refers to the believability of some information and/or its source (Hovland, Janis, & Kelley, 1953). A long history of research finds that credibility is a multifaceted concept with two primary dimensions: expertise and trustworthiness. Secondary factors affect credibility perceptions as well, including source attractiveness and dynamism, for example (O'Keefe, 2002). It also is understood that the credibility of a source or message is a receiver-based judgment which involves both objective judgments of information quality or accuracy as well as subjective perceptions of the source's trustworthi-ness, expertise, and attractiveness (Freeman & Spyridakis, 2004). Recent concerns about credibility stem from the fact that Internet and digitization technologies both lower the cost of and increase access to information production and dissemination. The result is that more information from more sources is available and more easily accessible now than ever before. In the past, substantial costs of information production and dissemination on a mass scale limited the number of sources to only those with enough authority and capital to justify and sell an information product. In the digital environment, however, nearly anyone can be an author, as authority is no longer a prerequisite for content provision on the Internet. This obviously raises issues of credibility, a problem that is exacerbated by the fact that many Web sites operate without much oversight or editorial review. Unlike most traditional (i.e., print) publishing, information posted on the Web may not be …