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Dissertation
The impact of hyperlinks and writer information on the perceived credibility of stories on a participatory journalism web site
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Oct 2007
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/etd-1963
Abstract
Credibility in mainstream media continues to wane, giving rise to new forms of journalism supported by the Internet. One of these new forms of journalism is participatory journalism. This is a form of journalism in which content is produced by ordinary citizens, usually on web sites. One of the most popular participatory journalism web sites at this time is OhmyNews.com. Like mainstream media, this site, as well as ones like it, have credibility obstacles to overcome. This study examined whether the presence of information about a writer and hyperlinks on a participatory journalism web site affected the perceived credibility of stories. One hundred and twenty participants read three stories from OhmyNews.com and then rated those stories in terms of their perceived credibility. Some of the participants were given information about the writer's background and a picture of the writer, some were able to follow hyperlinks embedded in the story to verify information contained in it, others were given information about the writer's background, a picture of the writer, and hyperlinks, and some were given just the story to serve as a control group. The results from the groups were compared to see if the additional information given to participants had an impact on the perceived credibility of the story. Results show that including this information does enhance the perceived credibility of the stories. Perceived credibility is enhanced most greatly when both hyperlink and writer information is included, and to a lesser extent when just hyperlink or writer information is included. Also, these markers of credibility have the most positive impact on perceived credibility when included in hard news, as opposed to feature type stories. This research will help online journalists understand how to increase the credibility of the stories they write, and will add to the small, but growing body of literature on participatory journalism. It will also add to the understanding of credibility formation and the factors that influence perceptions of information credibility.
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Details
- Title
- The impact of hyperlinks and writer information on the perceived credibility of stories on a participatory journalism web site
- Creators
- Kirsten A. Johnson - DU
- Contributors
- Susan Wiedenbeck (Advisor) - Drexel University (1970-)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- College of Information Science and Technology (1995-2013); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 1963; 991014632294404721