Effects of Audience Characteristics and Sources of Information on Perceived Credibility of Web Information

Although some studies have examined the effects of information sources and audience characteristics on credibility of Web information, few studies have investigated the effects of audience characteristics such as gender and age, which are clearly very crucial for a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying the credibility of Web information. In addition, some prior studies are correlational, not experimental, thus leaving it impossible to make causal interpretations of results. Furthermore, no studies so far have investigated whether or not there is an interaction between source characteristics and audience characteristics. The current research is concerned with the effects of source and audience characteristics on the perceived credibility of Web information, and the interaction between source and audience characteristics in affecting the perceived credibility of Web information. Participants from two age groups read information from different sources and then assigned credibility ratings to what they had read. The findings are: (1) Younger participants (age below 25 years) gave lower credibility ratings than did older participants (age above 25 years); (2) Overall, credibility ratings of females were lower than those of males; (3) When the information was from a professional, males assigned higher credibility ratings to information from the Internet than from a website or a personal homepage; their ratings of information from a website or a personal homepage were similar. Females gave similar credibility ratings whether the information was from a website, a personal homepage, or the Internet. When the information was from a layperson, the interaction between gender and selecting source was not significant. These findings have key implications for refining theories regarding the credibility of Web information and for organizations and companies that aim to enhance the credibility of their products and services.