NONPROFIT Web SiteS: CREDIBILITY RESULTS

This section presents what we learned about the credibility of nonprofit Web Sites, starting with our results about how the credibility comments for nonprofit sites differed from the overall averages, and then presenting the final credibility rankings of the 10 nonprofit sites.

Credibility comments about nonprofit Web Sites: What stands out?

The data tell an interesting story about nonprofit Web Sites, since the comments about these sites differ from the overall comments in provocative ways. What did people focus on when evaluating the credibility of nonprofit Web Sites?

They focused more on the identity of the site operator (28.9% vs. 8.8% overall) and the underlying company motive (20.2% vs. 15.5%). In addition, more than for any other site category, people evaluating the credibility of nonprofit sites made comments that were coded as "general suspicion," suggesting that the level of suspicion for nonprofit sites was far above that of any other type of Web Site (22.6% for nonprofits vs. 9.4% overall). While nonprofit sites are under a high level of scrutiny for trustworthiness, the data suggest they are not held to high standards in other areas. People evaluating the credibility of nonprofit sites commented less frequently on issues of design look (39.4% vs. 46.1%), information design/structure (18.2% vs. 28.5%), and information focus (17.8% vs. 25.1%).

Taken together, the data suggest that when people evaluate the credibility of nonprofit Web Sites, they focus relatively more on issues of who is behind the site and relatively less on how competent the Web Site is in terms of design or information. The data also suggest that despite having been recruited through nonprofit organizations, people in this study were rather suspicious of the Web Sites they found in this category.

OPINION OR REVIEW Web SiteS: CREDIBILITY RESULTS

This section presents what we learned about the credibility of opinion or review Web Sites, starting with our results about how the credibility comments for opinion or review sites differed from the overall averages, and then presenting the final credibility rankings of the 10 opinion/review sites.

Credibility comments about opinion or review Web Sites: What stands out?

Compared to the overall averages, people commented more frequently on three issues when evaluating the credibility of the opinion/review sites: information bias (23.8% vs. 11.6% overall), information accuracy (25.4% vs. 14.3%) and, to a lesser extent, underlying company motive (22.1% vs. 15.5%). People commented less frequently about the design look of opinion or review Web Sites (38.1% vs. 46.1). Curiously enough, we found no comments about the name recognition and reputation of these sites (0% vs. 14.1%), even though we included at least one big brand name in this category: Epinions.com. This last finding is the most striking in this category.

Credibility rankings of opinion or review Web Sites

Table 8 shows the final ranking of opinion/review sites in this study.

Table 8: Ranking and scores for opinion or review Web Sites.

What's notable about opinion or review site rankings?

While most of the other nine categories offer surprises, confirmations, or insights, the results of the opinion or review sites are largely unremarkable. Unlike the sites in other categories, the sites here are fairly evenly distributed along the credibility scale, with no notable standouts at the top or bottom of the heap. Other than having a big brand name E-pinions-end up in second place rather than first, there is nothing particularly notable about the scores or rankings in this category.

SEARCH ENGINE Web SiteS: CREDIBILITY RESULTS

This section presents what we learned about the credibility of search engine Web Sites, starting with our results about how the credibility comments for search engine sites differed from the overall averages and then presenting the final credibility rankings of the 10 search engine sites.

Credibility comments about search engine Web Sites: What stands out?

As for news sites, the results for search engine sites differed from the overall averages in many areas — eleven areas, to be precise. When evaluating the credibility of search engine Web Sites, people commented relatively more often about design look (52.6% vs. 46.1% overall), information design/structure ( 42.6% vs. 28.5%), performance on a test by user (13.8% vs. 3.6%), site functionality (20.5% vs. 8.6%), advertising (24.6% vs. 13.8%), and past experience with the site (12.8% vs. 4.6%). On the low end of the scale, people evaluating search engine sites commented less often on information bias (3.8% vs. 11.6%), information accuracy (7.1% vs. 14.3%), name recognition and reputation (5.1% vs. 14.1%), and customer service (1.0% vs. 6.4%). A further point of distinction for search engine sites is that this category received the fewest comments coded as "general suspicion" (2.8% vs. 9.4%).

The overall picture for search engines is a complicated one, at least compared to the average findings for all the categories. For most issues, the percentage of comments differed by more than 5 percent with the average values. It seems clear that people are bringing different expectations to each Web Site category, and that the search engine category seems to be the most unusual category of the 10.

Credibility rankings of search engine Web Sites

Table 9 shows the final ranking of search engine sites in this study.

Table 9: Ranking and scores for search engine Web Sites.

What's notable about search engine site rankings?

In the search engine category, the clear credibility leader was Google, followed by Yahoo! in a distant second place. It's peculiar that Yahoo!'s outcome in the search engines category is arguably worse than its outcomes in other categories in this study: travel, news, and sports.

In addition, we found it somewhat surprising how poorly Overture.com was viewed, given that this site readily discloses information about its corporate operations, including costs of advertising.

On the bottom of the ranking list in search engines is iWon.com, which scored far below any other site. Besides lagging so far behind the rest of the pack, iWon's low ranking is notable because this site is also reported to be popular, (5) demonstrating how in some situations popularity may not always correlate with high credibility (in other media, the distinction between popularity and perceived credibility is notable in properties like the National Enquirer and the Jerry Springer Show).

SPORTS Web SiteS: CREDIBILITY RESULTS
This section presents what we learned about the credibility of sports Web Sites, starting with our results about how the credibility comments for sports sites differed from the overall averages, and then presenting the final credibility rankings of the 10 sports sites.

Credibility comments about sports Web Sites:
What stands out?
When it comes to sports Web Sites in this study, two issues emerged as relatively more prominent when evaluating credibility: information focus (30.8% vs. 25.1%) and advertising (22.7% vs. 13.8%). Information design was mentioned less often than average (22.3% vs. 28.5%), while customer service was never mentioned when people evaluated the credibility of sports Web Sites (0% vs. 6.4%).

In general, these findings suggest that compared to other categories, sports Web Sites win credibility by focusing their site in ways people find pleasing and by not overloading the site with advertising. Oddly enough, issues of information accuracy or bias were not particularly prominent, perhaps because these topics are not perceived as key issues in sports information.

Credibility rankings of sports Web Sites
Table 10 shows the final ranking of sports sites in this study.

Table 10: Ranking and scores for sports Web Sites.

What's notable about sports site rankings?

The ranking list for sports Web Sites shows two clusters, one at the top and one at the bottom.

Two sites are in the top cluster of credibility: ESPN and Yahoo! Sports. The surprise here — as with news sites — is how well Yahoo! fared in the rankings. Neither a specialist in news nor sports, Yahoo! has succeeded in creating an online sports offering that people find to be highly credible, perhaps even more so than CNN Sports Illustrated.

On the bottom of the rankings are three Web Sites — Stand-Up Sports, Xslant, and Sports.com — all of which fared poorly in comparison to the credibility of other sites. Something about these sites, perhaps their visual design or their lack of a name brand, is causing people to not view them as credible sources of information.

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• TRAVEL Web SiteS: CREDIBILITY RESULTS