Expertise in Assessing the Credibility of Online Information: An Exploratory Study

• In Event: Poster Session 9
  In Poster Session: Technology-Based Learning Environments for Teachers, Parents, and Communities

Abstract

This study examined the beliefs, practices, and skills that experts engage when they search and evaluate information online. Participants (N=20) whose jobs depend on adeptness in searching for and judging the credibility of online information thought aloud while completing a series of online tasks. These tasks included static website evaluation, corroboration of sources and information on different websites, and open web searches. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of audio and visual data from screen recordings were conducted. We identify and describe the most generative and flexible strategies that experts used in order to construct a framework for planning and teaching novices to evaluate information online.

Authors

• Sarah McGrew, Stanford University

• Sam Wineburg, Stanford University