IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Jun 2009

Effect of Contact Information on the Credibility of Online Health Information

Kris S. Freeman ; Jan H. Spyridakis University of Washington

Abstract

This study analyzed the effects of publisher contact information on the credibility of online health information. Participants (n = 144) rated the credibility of Web pages with a ldquoContact Usrdquo link more highly than pages that had no contact information. Other types of contact information (street addresses and email links) did not significantly affect the credibility ratings. Qualitative results indicate that the ldquoContact Usrdquo link served as a peripheral cue to credibility, rather than triggering conscious analysis. This paper also discusses how the effectiveness of credibility cues can vary according to reader characteristics.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
2009-06-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.2009.2017992
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
affect and writing
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

Cites in this index (0)

No references match articles in this index.

Also cites 32 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1023/A:1012182419037
     ↗
  2. 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1999.tb00160.x
     ↗
  3. 10.1111/j.1539-6924.1997.tb01281.x
     ↗
  4. 10.1080/07448481.1991.9936257
     ↗
  5. 10.1177/107769909407100115
     ↗
  6. 10.1177/107769908806500301
     ↗
  7. 10.1002/asi.10016
     ↗
  8. 10.1086/266350
     ↗
  9. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.01.012
     ↗
  10. rieh (2007)
    10.1002/aris.2007.1440410114
    Annu Rev Inf Sci Technol  ↗
  11. 10.1145/302979.303001
     ↗
  12. 10.1037/h0062351
     ↗
  13. metzger (2003)
    10.1207/s15567419cy2701_10
    Communication Yearbook 27  ↗
  14. 10.1023/A:1007955514781
     ↗
  15. 10.1177/107769908606300301
     ↗
  16. 10.1016/S0747-5632(03)00021-9
     ↗
  17. 10.1177/1461444807075015
     ↗
  18. 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2005.07.029
     ↗
  19. 10.1136/bmj.324.7337.573
     ↗
  20. 10.1037/0022-006X.72.6.1004
     ↗
  21. 10.1177/107769900007700304
     ↗
  22. 10.1080/14639230600552601
     ↗
  23. 10.1145/365024.365037
     ↗
  24. 10.1145/997078.997097
     ↗
  25. 10.1177/0093650206287076
     ↗
  26. 10.1145/769800.769804
     ↗
  27. 10.1016/S0360-1315(03)00049-6
     ↗
  28. 10.1111/j.1471-1842.2004.00481.x
     ↗
  29. 10.1002/asi.20258
     ↗
  30. 10.1177/107769909807500108
     ↗
  31. 10.1080/10810730290088166
     ↗
  32. 10.1525/ae.1991.18.1.02a00070
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 25 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Mar 2026
    Terms of Service and Community Guidelines as “Value-Laden” Documents: An (Adapted) Corpus-Assisted Discourse Analysis of “Sexual Content” ↗
    Rachael Jordan
    discourse analysis social media affect and writing
  2. Written Communication Feb 2026
    Rhetoric and Affect: The Role of Faith in Student Writers’ Wayfinding ↗
    Amy D. Williams; Jonathan Ostenson
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis empirical research affect and writing
  3. Argumentation Feb 2026
    When Emmanuel Macron Goes Social: Using Social Media Influencers as a Rhetorical Strategy ↗
    Keren Sadoun-Kerber
    rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument collaborative writing social media affect and writing
  4. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Jan 2026
    Assessing Soft Skills Requirement in Entry-Level Career Success in the Malaysian Logistics Industry ↗
    Jessica Hai Liaw Ong; Priy Brat Dwivedi
    service learning affect and writing
  5. Pedagogy Jan 2026
    Contributors ↗
    rhetorical criticism genre theory writing pedagogy graduate education two-year college teacher development social media race and writing gender and writing affect and writing literary studies editorial matter