Date of Award

10-8-2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Applied Science

First Advisor

Elizabeth Pierce

Abstract

The Internet is a self-regulating complex system in which users decide what is relevant through their actions. Since the burden of locating and evaluating information depends on knowledge, experience, and skill, this study rigorously and holistically investigates the Web users' experience. The study began with a multidisciplinary literature review to determine how academics assess IQ on the Web. While individual models are narrowly focused, in aggregate, they delineate the boundaries of IQ needs, and identify the dimensions that are significant to the Web community. These dimensions, categorized into six knowledge domains, are the core of the information value methodology (IVM). Thereafter, to ascertain the consumer's perspective, two focus groups were asked to rate the importance of each domain's IQ characteristics as an aspect of the Web user's experience. The list was subsequently enriched with attributes from best practices, and international Web standards. A survey containing the 60 highest rated dimensions was administered to over 200 faculty and students from a U.S. research university. Respondents were additionally asked to share which groups they approach when faced with IQ problems on the Web. Novel contributions of this study include the IVM, which is a knowledge base, and an IQ classification system. In this empirical implementation, the Web information consumer's perspective is revealed and the results are organized into a hierarchical structure. Additionally, users' contact tendencies with others when encountering Web problems are brought to light.

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