Week 7: Stanford Credibility Study

Hey guys!

So we are wrapping week 7 up and one of the things that was reviewed was the Stanford Credibility Study performed by the Stanford Persuasive Tech Lab. According to the SPTL's website their main purpose is to create insight into how computing products from websites to mobile phone software and also design will change peoples behavior. In the web credibility research the group tackled these questions. What causes people to believe or not believe whats on the web? What strategies do uses employ in evaluating the credibility of online sources? What design factors an individuals use? Lastly, how and why are credibility evaluation processes are different from face to face interaction?

Stanford Credibility Study

In this study they are performing quantitative research on web credibility. They will collect all public information on web credibility. The research fell under 4 broad areas: evaluation process,design, individual factors,and context/content. There were 10 guidelines that were for web credibility and personally what I look for when I have to reference a site. For instance, when sites are updated more often than others where trustworthy people are standing behind the site. Also if I see a site that has a bunch of spelling errors its going to make me not want to take it seriously. It just shows sloppiness. When the site looks professional and is easy for users to view and even contact you it makes it a lot more credible. Appearance is everything so always make your site with simplicity and overall great appearance.