Laurian Vega

“I’m willing to bet my soul on this website”: Yeong-Tay Sun

Trust in Online Information Repositories Scott McCrickard
Steve Harrison

Abstract Hypothesis End User

Actor Network Theory

We present an actor-network model of trust based on behaviors that respect
the contextual integrity of the situation and a study using a novel empirical H1a: The trust for the H2a: Usability of the web- H3: Trust is variable. The
evaluation method. We argue that to users of online tools, “trust” is created website, webpage, and system will affect trust in value of trust across more
and continuously evaluated through the system of interactions between present information will be
said web-system. than two measurements
people — themselves included — and tools.   In the study, we attempt to different from each other.
understand and evaluate the sociality of trust, how web-systems take on
H1b: The trust for the H2b: Poor usability will
will be non-zero.
Computer
agency, and how social cues are a significant usability issue. The results negatively affect trust in
website, webpage, and
from the study demonstrates (1) the role that usability plays in increasing or present information will be the website, webpage, and
decreasing trust, (2) the malleability of a participant's trust, and (3) the interrelated. available information.
dynamic relationship between a website, a webpage, and the embedded
information. 

Internet
Evaluation Materials Results
700  QUIS UCS
Wikipedi
a
Standard Deviations on Trust Questions
600  Terminology of the website relates to task you
5.75 7.90
Q1 Q2 Q3
were doing 205.7
500  Instructions describing how to get through the
4.32 7.47 101.981 129.774 82250
tasks were
400  Instructions for working the website are UCS 496 435 6
6.17 8.11 200.8
consistent
300  Operations that you did with the website relate to Wikiped 78.6182 113.266 03409

Website
4.50 7.50
tasks you wanted to do ia 51 7156 9
200 
The feedback you received from the website was
4.65 6.58
informative
100 

0 
Display layouts of the website simplified your
tasks
4.25 7.55 The variance for all three
Sequence of displays in the website were 4.65 7.40
0‐5 minutes  5‐10 minutes  10‐15 minutes  15‐20 minutes  Error messages, if encountered, in the website
1.33 4.33
trust questions was found to
are helpful
UCS Trust Mean  Wikipedia Trust Mean  Correcting errors in the tasks was
Learning the operations done within the website
5.06 5.93 be significant. This suggests
5.90 8.20
was
The limitations of my memory 5.95 7.16
that trust within even a
Trust values started high in the first five Exploration of features in the website were
Overall reactions (Terrible to wonderful)
4.16
3.45
6.60
6.85 twenty-minute increment is
minutes of the study but then tended Overall Reactions (Frustrating to satisfying)
Overall Reactions (Uninteresting to interesting)
3.00
3.58
5.70
6.90 malleable and evaluating trust

Webpage
to decrease as time went on. All trust Overall Reactions (Dull to stimulating)
Overall Reactions (Difficulty to easy)
3.50
3.80
6.45
6.50 at only the beginning and end
values across all questions were of a task does not convey the
We found that usability errors had a
interrelated with a correlation of .959. full trust dynamic.
detrimental effect on all measured
At the Users also found trust in an entire Additionally, these values
en aspects of trust (p<.0001, df=1). The
30 subjecti d of using an website to be higher than trust in a have a high and similar
ately every ve in weakest relations between trust and
s approxim the web ly evaluate the terface, webpage. Trust in a webpage was
ust Question completing 4 different site error rates was between evaluating covariation, indicating that as
Asking 3 Tr nu tes while
usability
of statistically higher than trust in the variation increases in one
20 mi errors and trust in the present
seconds for erfaces embedded information.
o different int information: ChiSquare result= measurement, it increases in
tasks on tw
73.973 (p<0.0001, df=1). the other
Information
Servers
Unique Trust Stories Website Webpage Embedded Information
Usability Case Study

1000  1200  1200  700  800  1200  1000  1200 

700 

Information
800  1000  1000  600  1000  800  1000 
500  600 
800  800  500  800 
600  800  600 
600  400  400  600 
400  600  600  400 
400  300  300  400 
400  200 
Wikipedia

200  200  400 

1 2 3
200  100  200  200 

3 1 2 4
200 

4
0  0  100  0  200  0 
0 
Library

0  0 
Video Time 

0:06:31 

0:13:08 

0:16:37 

0:21:48 

Video Time 

0:06:49 
0:09:27 
0:11:17 

0:15:41 
0:16:57 

0:18:49 
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0:02:56 
0:04:32 

0:07:46 
0:08:44 
0:11:13 

0:15:36 

0:19:53 
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0:03:04 
0:04:44 

0:13:53 

0:18:00 

Video Time 
0:24:27 
0:26:21 

0:30:39 

0:39:15 

Video Time 

0:25:05 
0:26:21 

0:30:28 
0:31:55 

0:33:41 

0:40:49 
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0:28:33 

0:32:12 
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0:35:06 
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0:43:33 

0:24:06 

0:27:13 
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0:32:52 

0:35:04 
0:35:56 
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0:38:32 
0 
Video 4me 

0:25:47 
0:27:01 
0:29:37 
0:30:57 

0:33:07 

0:35:45 
0:37:15 

0:39:15 
0:23:06 

0:32:04 

0:34:44 

0:38:16 

0:40:50 
0:42:00 

Providers
Video Time 
0:02:32 
0:04:43 
0:06:21 
0:07:57 
0:09:21 
0:10:53 
0:12:21 
0:15:14 
0:17:13 
0:18:37 

Video Time 
0:03:18 
0:04:40 
0:06:06 
0:07:44 
0:10:07 
0:11:33 
0:12:53 
0:14:40 
0:16:48 
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0:19:43 

0:26:57 
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0:43:11