A trusted website 

Context in source publication

Context 1

... site illustrates some of the features associated with mistrust including choice of colour, unusual layout (right hand side menus), and a corporate look and feel. Participants were also influenced by the website’ name. A good name was specific and to the point but was not patronizing or too gimmicky. A poor name was not trustworthy and could lead to a rapid rejection of the site. Participants thought that the visual appeal of the site was important, poor visual appeal did not encourage further exploration. The participants mentioned a number of factors in terms of the sites that they had chosen to explore in more depth. The themes are summarized in table 3. Trust was an important feature of the selected websites. The participants liked sites that contained a great deal of information but that was presented in such a manner that an individual could quickly pinpoint their own specific areas of interest. The participants’ selection of websites to explore and revisit was also dependent on the assessment of the content in relation to their own personal angle. Table 3 indicates that content factors were more important than design features in describing trusted or well-liked sites. The favourite sites were usually described in terms of their content. Participants trusted the selected sites because they demonstrated an in-depth knowledge of a wide variety of relevant topics and put forward unbiased clear information. Participants were more likely to trust the information if they could verify it and cross check it with other websites. Most individuals preferred sites that were run by reputable organizations or had a medical or expert feel about them. They trusted the information on such websites especially when the credentials of the site and its authors were made explicit. Sites that indicated that the advice originated from a similar individual was also well received. Most participants showed some distrust of the advice and information on websites sponsored by pharmaceutical companies or those explicitly selling products. Participants were looking for sites that were written by people similar to themselves, who shared similar interests. In this way advice feels personalized for them. Figure 2 illustrates some of the features of a trusted site. Project Aware is a “website by women for women.” The site is split into menopause stage specific areas. The site covers a wide variety of relevant topics and provides links to original research materials. The language is clear and simple and the layout out is easy on the eye. Although the participants were all interested in the menopause, they all had their own personal agendas and interests. One participant, for example, had a pre-existing condition, which prevents her from taking HRT. She searched for and selected sites, which gave her information and advice relevant to her condition and was particularly interested in alternative remedies. Another participant had been through the menopause and felt that a lot of unanswered questions remained. She was searching through websites trying to find information and advice that matched her own experiences. The participants were keen to read about other women’s experiences on website discussion boards although they did not feel immediately comfortable posting their own messages to the site. One other participant was currently taking HRT but was keen to know more about the risks and benefits in terms of deciding whether or not to stay on the drugs. Participants expressed their desire to revisit a number of the sites that had found or had been directed to over the course of the study. Reasons for revisiting a site included a change of symptoms or new information reported in the media. Participants talked about information rich sites, sites that you could become immersed in and the importance of bookmarking good sites. This work is concerned with the issue of how trust develops in an online health context. As reported in the introduction, almost all studies of online health advice have evaluated the quality of information and advice available on the Internet from a medical perspective. In this study it has been shown that consumers, especially those with an interest in the health topic, search for and appraise information in a different way to experts. Reed & Anderson [27] recommended that women search for health information regarding the menopause on pharmaceutical websites because of the high levels of accuracy on such sites. The participants in our study, however, mistrusted sites sponsored by pharmaceutical companies and disliked sites with a corporate look and feel. In their recent review of trust literature Briggs et al [4] have suggested a three-stage model of the process of trust development. In this paper we have reported on the first two stages of this model. During the first stage participants carried out a rapid screening process rejecting sites they did not trust. Mistrust was found to relate to poor design appeal. The participants were less likely to trust sites that contained adverts, pop up surveys or that were poorly laid out. Poor design gave a negative first impression and the name of the website could lead participants to mistrust the site and its authors intentions. The selection of sites was based on trust. Participants trusted sites that provided informative content on a wide range of relevant topics. The information was trusted if it was unbiased and if the information on such sites was supported by research articles or original sources. Sites that were selected contained a variety of content features including Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and a section on hints and tips. Trusted sites were selected by the participants for further examination. This second stage of trust development relied more heavily upon a careful evaluation of website content. The participants were quick to notice website sponsorship, (even if buried in the small print), currency (how up-to-date the information was), any information biases, cultural differences or inconsistencies. The participants trusted sites that reflected their own social identity. They liked sites that were written by women and those that they felt were specifically for women like themselves. Although there was not time during the four- week study for the participants to develop proper relationships with any of the websites they were already showing preferences for sites that reflected their own social identity. Social identity appears to be an important part of the trust process even during the early stages of trust formation a point which has not been fully recognized within the e-commerce literature on trust. As predicted the participants in our study, with a greater stake in the outcome of their web searches, paid close attention to the content of selected sites and were careful and critical evaluators of the information. We can presume that for these users - faced with genuine health risks associated with taking the online advice - involvement with the site was high. This is important when we consider trust and reflects the work of Chaiken [5] who described two experiments that show that the degree of involvement in an issue ...