Exploring perceived online information quality: a mixed-method approach

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the quality of information in articles in the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, as perceived by readers and content contributors. This study explored several dimensions and characteristics of information presented in Wikipedia by identifying new emerging dimensions in terms of readers’ perceptions of the quality of online information. Design/methodology/approach: Two rounds of online surveys were conducted using a mixed-method approach. In the first survey, the authors conducted content analysis on 197 participants, and in the second survey, the authors conducted factor analysis on 107 study participants. The authors used Qualtrics Panel Services to recruit individuals who read and/or edited the English version of Wikipedia articles and resided in the United States. Findings: The mixed-method approach employed in this study to explore the quality of online information had three core components: users’ perceptions of information quality, content analysis, and exploratory factor analysis of the perceived information quality structure. The study found a new information quality category, social aspect quality. Dimensions include fun, goodness, empowering and user generated. Originality/value: The results demonstrate the emergence of novel quality attributes for information quality presented online, particularly in social media. Moreover, this study is one of the rare studies to employ a mixed-method approach that offers diverse but reliable perspectives on information quality as perceived by everyday users of Wikipedia.