Information Task Equivocality and Media Richness: Implications for Health
Information on the World Wide Web
by
Tracy Irani
Tom Kelleher
Send correspondence to
Tracy Irani
Tom Kelleher
Doctoral Students
Graduate Division
College of Journalism and Communications
University of Florida
P.O. Box 118400
Gainesville, FL 32611-8400
352/337-1227
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352/380-0758
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ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT
This experiment examines the effects of health-related information task
equivocality on media choice. Equivocality is the ambiguity, or lack of
clarity, of information. Media choice is based on perceived richness, a
medium's tendency to convey "rich" or "lean" information.
Experiment data collected from 88 college students suggest that individuals
facing a
high-equivocality information-seeking task will choose a richer World Wide Web
site over leaner media, and that individual media choice in low-equivocality
situations may be based on perceived self-efficacy with the Web.
Information task equivocality and media richness
Information Task Equivocality and Media Richness: Implications for Health
Information on the World Wide Web
Introduction
The phenomenon of the Internet, which has rapidly developed from a loose
collection of public and proprietary networked computers primarily in
governmental and educational institutions to a true global information network
in less than 15 years, has had a significant impact on information provision and
the seeking out and processing of information in modern society. With the advent
of the World Wide Web, the Internet has grown to an open network of local,
regional and global computer networks, serviced by more than 300 Internet
service providers with an estimated 60 million users in 130 countries worldwide
(Simpson, 1996).
Unlike other forms of mass media, the Web is receiver-driven in nature.
Information providers online worry more about their audience being able to find
them, then whether to pay more to get greater information carrying capacity or
audience delivery, as in traditional media.
A key characteristic of this new medium, often casually described as
"information rich", is its capacity to carry larger amounts of easily updated
information at a relatively lower cost than other media. In fact, the
escalating costs of traditional media delivery have made it potentially
attractive for information providers of all types to consider moving new and
existing information operations to the Web.
In terms of health information in particular, community health networks,
hospitals, educational institutions, etc., weighing the high cost and limited
access of proprietary networks vs. the low cost, global access capabilities of
the Internet, increasingly are opting to set up elaborate information structures
online. These health information Web sites have the capability to incorporate
everything from professional research, physician collaboration and distance
education to patient information services, searchable databases and interactive
features such as simulations, support groups and referral networks.
Delivering consumer health information services via the Internet and the
World Wide Web has the advantage of being relatively inexpensive and easy to
implement. In addition, the unique characteristics of the medium allow
consumers to access updated information when they need it (essentially,
information at the click of a mouse button) and to save, store and retrieve it
at their convenience
The organizational structure of information and the hypertext capabilities
inherent in the Web may, however, have significant impact on how health
information is perceived by the consumer. Web sites are essentially hierarchies
of information, "branching out" via internal and external links rather than
presenting information in a linear sequence. In addition, elements such as
graphics, animation, email, interactive chat, etc., may potentially embellish
information for some users, but may be less attractive to individuals who
perceive themselves as having low self efficacy with respect to computer use.
The Web's organizational structure is unique, but it may or may not leave
room for the equivocation and ambiguity that communication of health-related
information sometimes entails. Further, through hypertext linking, information
may be accumulated and juxtaposed in ways that represent an information path
unique to each and every user. (So there is often no way to click through all
the potential information paths to get a sense of all the ways the information
can unfold to a user.) This, of course, makes it very difficult to predict how
information will be interpreted.
As consumer health information continues to become more accessible in new
media environments, research attention is just beginning to focus on these
issues (c.f., Simpson, 1996; Patrick & Koss, 1995; Elliot & Elliot, 1995;
Harris, 1995). Currently, little is known about the communication behavior of
consumers of online health information - for example, how active they are in
their consumption of such information, what uses they make of it and how the
combination of content and media context might serve to influence attitude and
behavior change with respect to maintaining and improving health.
The unique characteristics of the Internet, as a form of computer mediated
communication (CMC) that transcends the barriers of space and time and allows
for simultaneous one-to-one and one-to-many communication, have made it
attractive to communication researchers and professionals and a bit confounding,
as well. Because the wellspring of its CMC antecedents was text-based
communication among a loose collection of academic and government researchers
using various forms of proprietary computer networking (Rheingold, 1994),
initial research has evolved out of the interpersonal and organizational
communication traditions, with supporting work in the fields of education,
management information science and library science (Morris & Ogan, 1996).
Following along these lines, the goal of this study is to apply ideas from
a body of literature related to organizational information processing and
symbolic interactionism theory to help understand the processes underlying
individual media choice for certain types of information. Specifically, this
study examines the role of task equivocality in predicting individual media
choice based on information richness theory. It adds the dimension of consumer
health-related information on the World Wide Web to the existing literature on
media richness and task equivocality.
Equivocality, Media Richness and Consumer Health Information
Researchers in organizational behavior have identified equivocality as a
variable describing the ambiguity, or lack of clarity, of information (Weick,
1979; Daft & Macintosh, 1981; Daft & Lengel, 1984; Trevino, Lengel, & Daft,
1987; Daft, Lengel, and Trevino, 1987, Trevino, Lengel, Bodensteiner, Gerloff, &
Muir, 1990; D'Ambra & Rice, 1994). Information tasks that are very unambiguous
with well-understood procedures to guide information-seeking behavior are
considered low in equivocality. Examples of information tasks determined to be
low in equivocality in prior studies from the organizational behavior literature
include "you want to schedule a zone meeting for two weeks from today," and
"you want to notify an immediate subordinate that his request for a leave of
absence has been approved" (D'Ambra & Rice, 1994, p. 232; Trevino et al., 1990,
p. 188). These tasks are based on the processing of information that follows
relatively clear procedures and leaves little room for misinterpretation.
Although recent studies of management behavior have often sought to measure
equivocality in terms of managers (information senders), earlier studies
proposed that the idea of information equivocality is grounded in how
information users (senders and receivers) perceive the task. Daft and Macintosh
define unequivocal information as "information that is clear and specific and
that generally leads to a single, uniform interpretation by users" (1981, p.
211).
Highly equivocal information tasks, on the other hand, leave room for "the
existence of multiple and conflicting interpretations" (Daft et al., 1987, p.
357). The answer one is looking for may not be clear in equivocal
information-processing situations. In fact, the questions to ask may not even
be clear since the information task is ambiguous. Tested examples include "you
need clarification from a superior on a crucial issue affecting your
zone/branch" and "to suggest to a new employee that she is not doing and
adequate job and would be better off accepting a demotion to a less demanding
position. . ." (D'Ambra & Rice, 1994, p. 232; Trevino et al., 1990, p. 188).
Daft et al. (1987) discuss the differences between the similar concepts of
uncertainty and equivocality based on a review of research in organizational
theory and organizational communication. They conclude uncertainty describes
the mere "absence of information" in organizational information-processing
situations while equivocality, in contrast, means ambiguity. People may respond
to uncertainty by seeking information in a familiar and straightforward manner.
Equivocal tasks, however, will require "hunches, discussion and social support"
(Daft et al., 1987, p. 357).
The concept of media richness refers to a medium's tendency to convey "rich" or
"lean" information. Information richness theory was introduced to explain how
people in organizations use rational media choice to deal with equivocality.
Although media choice may not always be entirely rational, there are situations,
such as those involving the organized communication and acquisition of
information (including health information), where deliberate information seeking
and selection play a significant role.
Lengel (1983), cited in Daft & Lengel (1984), proposed that communication
media vary in their ability to carry information. Each medium differs in (1)
feedback capability, (2) number of cues utilized, (3) personal focus of source
and (4) language variety (Daft et al., 1987). Lengel (1983) proposed ranking
the various media in terms of richness, and rated face-to-face discussion as the
richest medium followed by telephone, written personal letters and memos,
written formal documents and numeric formal documents. According to Lengel,
whereas face-to-face discussion facilitates immediate feedback, visual and audio
cues, a personal source, and natural body language, numeric documents offer very
slow (if any) feedback, limited visual cues, an impersonal source, and strictly
numeric language. As shown in Table 1, follow-up studies rating various media
are consistent.
Table 1
Media Richness Ratings
Lengel (1983)*
Trevino, et al. (1987)
Daft et al. (1987)
Trevino et al. (1990)
D'Ambra & Rice (1994)
Richest Medium
face-to-face
face-to-face
face-to-face
face-to-face
face-to-face
telephone
Telephone
telephone
telephone
telephone
written personal
(letters, memos)
electronic mail
written, addressed documents (note, memo, letter)
electronic mail
letter
voice mail
electronic mail
written, formal
(bulletins, documents)
Written
note
memo
business memo
Leanest
Medium
numeric, formal
(computer format)
unaddressed documents (flier, bulletin, report)
special report
flyer/bulletin
*continuum originally suggested by Daft & Macintosh (1981)
Information richness has been defined as "the potential information carrying
capacity of data, or simply the capacity of information to provide substantial
new consensual understanding" (Trevino et al., 1990, p. 178). Rice uses the
word "bandwidth," a term adapted from the technical concept for how much
information a medium can transmit in a specific amount of time, to help clarify
the concept of information richness: "bandwidth is the diversity of cues that a
particular medium can transmit"(1987, p. 67). He adds that richness also
includes aspects of the appropriateness of media choice. Media richness, then,
is the potential of a particular medium to convey rich information based on the
four criteria cited above.
Relationship between Equivocality and Media Choice
Work on equivocality and media choice evolved out of symbolic interactionism, a
social psychological theory that focuses on society as interaction and the use
of symbols to form meaning (see Blumer, 1969; Mead, 1934). This framework has
been adapted by researchers to examine the criteria subjects use in a variety of
contexts to make rational media choices. These include attributes of media and
message, evaluation of contextual determinants such as time and distance and
consideration of the symbolic nature of media choice (Trevino et al., 1987).
The media richness hypothesis has been used to argue that rational managers
will choose richer media to communicate more equivocal messages. Simply stated,
more equivocal information-seeking tasks call for richer media. This hypothesis
has been generally supported (D'Ambra & Rice, 1994; Trevino et al., 1990; Daft
et al., 1987; Trevino et al., 1987, Daft, 1983 cited in Daft & Lengel, 1984).
The present study is designed to see how individuals perceive the World Wide
Web in terms of richness (specifically for health information tasks) compared to
other media. Applying this theoretical framework to the Web may add a new
dimension to the analysis, since although the medium is ostensibly text-based,
its unique system design attributes such as interactivity, hypertext and
enhanced audiovisual elements can be used to create a media environment that is
either richer or leaner. A Web site that is essentially textual in nature, with
limited visuals and no interactive features, such as external links, email,
newsgroups or chat, may be perceived entirely differently in terms of
information richness than a site which incorporates some or all of these
elements.
Drawing on the assumption that health information tasks vary in terms of
equivocality (seeking a list of symptoms is a less equivocal task than trying to
find information that will help you make a decision as to whether to have
surgery), the authors propose that information richness theory may carry over to
the Web and seekers of online health infomraiton. Consumers, like managers in
earlier studies, may try to "match" communication task equivocality with the
perceived richness of a medium so as to communicate more efficiently and,
perhaps, more effectively.
Based on the assumptions above, the authors hypothesize that consumers of
health information will choose a "richer" World Wide Web site designed to
provide (1) rapid feedback, (2) multiple communication cues, (3) more personal
sources of information and (4) a wide variety of language over a simple printed
flier or its text-only Web equivalent when asked to perform an equivocal
information-seeking task. This rich Web site, however, is not expected to
displace face-to-face communication in terms of richness.
Further Considerations
As research in this area has progressed, there has been some dichotomy
regarding the relationship between equivocality and media choice, as well as
some question about the measurement of these variables. D'Ambra and Rice, for
example, question the validity and reliability of measures used to reach the
conclusions cited above. They suggested asking respondents to first rate a pool
of tasks according to a "well-standardized" equivocality scale developed and
analyzed by Daft and others. They determined that ". . . this scale is
unidimensional and reliable. . . allowing for comparison across studies" (1994,
p. 237).
The following three equivocality items, originally used by Daft and
Macintosh (1981) and adapted by D'Ambra and Rice (1994), are rated from 1 =
"agree to a very great extent" to 5 = "agree to very little extent":
1. There is more than one satisfactory solution to the problem.
2. The information can be interpreted in several ways and can lead to
different but acceptable solutions.
3. The information used to make the decisions can mean different things
to different people.
D'Ambra and Rice also suggested presenting the concept of media richness to
subjects using Daft, et al.'s definition by having them rate each medium
according to the four specific aspects of media richness mentioned above
(feedback capability, etc.). This allows researchers to compare new media to
media studied in earlier research. Finally, to measure subjects' media
decisions, D'Ambra and Rice recommended having subjects rank their media choices
for a particular information task.
Trevino et al. (1990) identified a "richness imperative" which adds insight
and should be considered in developing hypotheses based on information
equivocality and media richness. The "richness imperative" suggests that in
situations involving equivocal information tasks, the rational media choice is
to use rich media. However, in circumstances where the information task is
unequivocal and straight forward, both rich and lean media are "capable of
carrying a low-equivocality message" (Trevino et al., p. 182, their emphasis).
Therefore, choice of media in a low-equivocality information task may be related
to individual cognitive factors. Indeed, Trevino et al. found that "the
judging/perspective attitude, as measured by the Myers Briggs Type Indicator,
influenced media choice under conditions of low equivocality but not under
conditions of high equivocality" (1990, p. 176).
In addition to measuring information task equivocality, media richness and
media choice related to health information, the present study also measures
individuals' perceived self-efficacy in using the World Wide Web. The
instrument used to measure this variable is a ten-item questionnaire developed
and tested by Compeau and Higgins (1995) and adapted for the specific task of
acquiring information from the World Wide Web by Kelleher (1996). Perceived
self-efficacy in acquiring information from the World Wide Web may affect media
choice under conditions of low equivocality where either the Web or print
material is capable of conveying the necessary information. The authors
predicted subjects faced with low-equivocality tasks and with high Web perceived
self-efficacy would be more likely to choose the World Wide Web media options
than subjects with less perceived self-efficacy with the Web.[1]
The following assumptions, generally supported by the subsequent pretest,
served as starting points in the development of the study's three main
hypotheses:
1. Subjects would perceive a highly interactive/graphical Web site as
being a "richer" medium than a text-only pamphlet.
2. Subjects would perceive a highly interactive/graphical Web site as
being a "richer" medium than a less interactive, text-based Web site.
3. As in previous studies cited, subjects would rank face-to-face
communication highest of all media options in terms of richness.
Hypotheses
H1: When presented with a high equivocality communication task regarding
seeking health information, subjects will be more likely to choose the "media
rich" environment of a highly interactive Web site over a "leaner" printed
pamphlet.
H2: When presented with a high equivocality communication task regarding
seeking health information, subjects will be more likely to choose the "media
rich" environment of the highly interactive Web site over a "leaner" text-based
Web page.
H3: Among those subjects presented with low equivocality tasks, subjects
with higher perceived self-efficacy in acquiring information from the World Wide
Web will be more likely to choose the Web-based media options than subjects with
lower perceived self efficacy with the Web.
Method
Pretest. The pretest was designed to test the validity of preliminary
assumptions as well as the questionnaire instruments. A sample of 36 college
student volunteers was
presented with several media options. Voice mail, face-to-face and telephone
options were described verbally by the experimenter. Examples of a pamphlet, a
"lean" Web site and a "rich" Web site were shown to the group as a whole as well
as described verbally (Appendix A). Subjects were then asked to rank the media
as to perceived media richness by expressing the extent of their agreement with
the following four statements.
1. If communicators are unclear about something or do not understand it,
(the medium) allows them to ask questions and obtain answers as they
arise.
2. (The medium) allows communicators to add meaning to what they want to
say by using as many cues (body language, voice, tone, etc.) as
possible.
3. (The medium) allows communicators to be flexible with the way words
are used in order to increase understanding.
4. If communicators feel very strongly about something (positively or
negatively), (the medium) allows them to show their feelings.
D'Ambra & Rice (1994) developed these statements based on the four aspects of
richness identified in the literature review. Subjects rated each of the six
media by expressing the extent of their agreement with each statement on a scale
of one to five.
Subjects were then asked to rate the equivocality of a series of consumer
health information tasks related to material developed by college student health
services on alcoholism, an issue felt to have relevance for this demographic
group. As with the media richness instrument, the task equivocality
questionnaire was based on the work of D'Ambra and Rice. The task equivocality
instrument is included in Appendix B.
The pretest also tested the computer perceived self-efficacy instrument
(Appendix C) and the media choice instrument. In the final part of the pretest,
students were asked to rank the six media (first choice through sixth choice)
for several information tasks. Pretest feedback and data suggested that the
media-ranking instrument may have been difficult for subjects. That is, they
may have found it difficult to use the forced-answer questionnaire format to
rank the six media options (first through sixth) for the several different
information tasks.
Experiment. Following the pretest, an experiment was conducted using 88
student volunteers who did not participate in the pretest. Subjects were told
that they would be presented with three different media, and asked to choose one
of the media to use for a specific task related to seeking health information
about alcoholism. To ensure fidelity and accountability of response, subjects
were told they would be asked to explain the reasoning for their media choice,
although this was not actually part of the experiment.
Three media options, the pamphlet, the lean Web site, and the rich Web
site, were then presented. Next, all subjects were asked to read one of two
randomly assigned scenarios. The high-equivocality task (condition A) was "You
wish to find information on how to approach someone about a drinking problem."
The low-equivocality task (condition B) was "You want to find out what the legal
blood alcohol limit is in the state of Florida." These media choice options and
information tasks were chosen by the experimenters based on the focus of the
study and the results of the pretest. After reading a scenario, subjects were
asked to choose one of the three media to accomplish the health-information
task. As in the pretest, subjects were also asked to complete the World Wide
Web perceived self-efficacy instrument. After the experiment was administered,
all subjects were debriefed as to the nature of the test conditions and material
to which they had been exposed.
Findings
Pretest. The mean ratings for media richness are as follows:
Pamphlet 1.83
Lean Web site 2.23
Voice mail 2.51
Rich Web site 2.51
Telephone 3.81
Face-to-face 4.74
The mean richness rating for the "rich" Web site proved to be higher than
the richness rating for the pamphlet. This difference in means was significant
at p ( .0001. The mean richness rating for the "rich" Web site was also higher
than the mean richness rating for the "lean" Web site. This difference was
significant at p ( .02. As expected, face to face communication had the highest
ranking in media richness. Its mean richness rating was significantly higher
than all others. Indeed, the difference between face-to-face communication and
telephone (the second highest richness ranking) was significant at p ( .0001.
Experiment. Table 1 shows the media choice frequencies and percentages by
condition. The chi-square test demonstrates a modest interaction between task
equivocality and media choice at p ( .08.
Table 2
Task Equivocality and Media Choice
Low-equivocality condition
High-equivocality condition
Pamphlet
24 (50%)
13 (32.5%)
Lean Web site
10 (20.8%)
6 (15%)
Rich Web site
14 (29.2%)
21 (52.5%)
Total
48 (100%)
40 (100%)
Experiment findings basically supported the three main hypotheses. In the
high-equivocality condition, the rich Web site was chosen more often (52.5%)
than the pamphlet (32.5%). In the high-equivocality condition, the rich Web
site was also chosen more often (52.5%) than the "lean" Web site (15%). Among
those subjects faced with low equivocality tasks, subjects with higher perceived
self-efficacy in acquiring information from the World Wide Web were more likely
to choose the Web-based media options than subjects with lower perceived self
efficacy with the Web.
With respect to the analysis of self-efficacy, the experimenters performed
a median split to distinguish "high" self-efficacy subjects from "low"
self-efficacy subjects. Subjects whose mean perceived self-efficacy with the
World Wide Web was less than 6.15 (on a 0-8 scale) were considered "low." Of
the 48 who were randomly assigned to the low-information task equivocality
condition, 24 were considered "low" self-efficacy with the Web and 24 were
considered "high" self-efficacy with the Web.
Within the low task equivocality, high self-efficacy group, 15 (62.5%)
chose one of the World Wide Web options and 9 (37.5%) chose the paper pamphlet.
Within the low-task equivocality, low-self-efficacy group, 9 (37.5%) chose one
of the Web options and 15 (62.5%) chose the paper pamphlet. A chi-square test
demonstrates a fairly significant interaction between perceived self-efficacy
with the World Wide Web and Web/non-Web media choice within the low equivocality
condition (p ( .08). The same test for the high-equivocality condition showed
no interaction approaching significance.
Table 3
World Wide Web Perceived Self-efficacy and Web/Non-Web Media Choice
Low Equivocality Condition Only
Low Perceived Self-efficacy with Web
High Perceived Self-efficacy with Web
Non-Web option
(pamphlet)
15 (62.5%)
9 (37.5%)
Web-options
(lean or rich Web site)
9 (37.5%)
(5 lean, 4 rich)
15 (62.5%)
(5 lean, 10 rich)
Total
24 (100%)
24 (100%)
Limitations
The implications of this study with respect to D'Ambra & Rice's questioning
of the validity and reliability of the measures used in previous research
suggest that some conceptual and measurement issues do need further attention.
Although the ten-item perceived self-efficacy scale had an acceptable alpha of
.93, the task equivocality and media richness measurements used in this study
leave room for improvement.[2] The alphas for the four-item media richness
measures in the pretest (N=36) ranged from .53 for the rich Web site to .86 for
face-to-face media. Also, the three-item scale used to measure the equivocality
of health information tasks produced alphas ranging from .57 to .82.
These low alphas may be due to the challenges inherent in adapting concepts
from another body of research to the area of consumer health information. They
also may indicate a need for refining the concepts of media richness and task
equivocality. It is possible that these concepts, as observed by D'Ambra & Rice
(1994), are not unidimensional as assumed. The present, initial study is
limited to replication of the existing instruments and analysis via a
straightforward comparison of means. The statistical power of pretest
conclusions also is limited due to the low number of participants.
Furthermore, the media choice instrument used in the experiment was easy
for the subjects to complete, but the data collected were based on each medium
being either selected or not selected. The dichotomous nature of this media
choice variable limited the statistical tests that could be performed. Also, in
future studies, the design may focus on allowing subjects to actually use the
media before making their choice rather than merely demonstrating the media
options.
Discussion
The rationale for applying an information richness theoretical framework to
health information on the Web is based on the intrinsic nature of health
information decisions. For example, much like the managers in the Daft and
Lengel studies, seekers of health information are likely to be in a condition of
fairly high involvement that implies a more careful information processing and a
degree of rationality in making media choices.
Study findings, although preliminary, seem to provide some support for
measuring perceived levels of media richness in conjunction with equivocality of
health information tasks. Interestingly, although subjects in this study rated
the Web as a fairly rich media environment, they were able to make a distinction
between a "richer" site and a "leaner" one. Theoretically, if users of
Web-based health information services make decisions about where to go and what
to explore based on their perceptions of media richness and equivocality of the
information they are seeking, this should provide some guidance to site
developers in determining overall system design and incorporation of elements.
For example, if a mother has a child running a fever, she may be drawn to a
site that provides treatment information unequivocally, using "lean"
communication that is text based, with a minimum of graphics, links etc. On the
other hand, if she has just been diagnosed with breast cancer, the most
effective site may be one high in media richness, allowing for a high degree of
equivocality in the information she seeks about the difficult decisions she will
need to make. Knowing how media richness influences consumers' use of a
Web-based health information site can be an important line of inquiry because it
may help educators design communication systems that fit consumers' needs and
offer the greatest potential for effective communication.
However, the questionable measurement and nature of the equivocality
variable is certainly a concern. The relatively low alphas may suggest that
subjects have difficulty grasping this as a single concept. With respect to
health information in particular, it seems possible to break equivocality down
into a set of simpler concepts such as amount of information sought, clarity of
information-seeking procedures and/or linearity of information-seeking
procedures. One promising area for further research is to attempt to break down
equivocality in terms of user perceptions and to create a quantifiable model of
for explaining the effects observed in this study.
Conclusions
The move to a managed health care environment has increased the profile of
consumer health education in this country. Health communicators now recognize
that access to health information services, especially as delivered via
interactive media technologies, can help control costs by bringing down demand.
(Fries, Koop, Beadle, et al 1993). An editorial in the British Medical Journal
(BMJ) goes so far as to argue that current Internet-based technology already
makes it feasible to inaugurate "a global health information infrastructure to
improve health worldwide" (LaPorte, 1994).
It thus seems apparent that socioeconomic factors will continue to provide
an impetus for Web-based consumer health information. Contextual determinants
such as distance, time and cost may also work in favor of the Web for rural and
under-served populations as well as those who might find it a more convenient
and timely form of access to health information for themselves and their
families.
The Internet undeniably represents a powerful economic, socio-cultural and
information force with the potential to affect and influence individuals and
society. Because it is still so new, many research efforts have been aimed at
analyzing the medium itself, especially its similarities and differences with
respect to other forms of mass media. Less has been done in terms of looking at
the specific information content delivered.
From an information processing perspective, to the extent that consumers of
health information on the Web are active and purposeful, they are more likely to
be involved with the content they seek than if they were exposed to it in other
forms of media. Understanding how motivation and involvement work online might
help to predict influence on attitudes and behaviors related to health. Does
the consumer actively "searching" the Web for information on cholesterol feel
more committed to acting on the information they find? Is information-seeking
behavior on the Web related to responsibility and determinism with respect to
health behaviors?
Finally, in addition to media richness and task equivocality, the choice of
the medium itself may convey symbolic meaning to users beyond the communication
content. From the sender's perspective, using a technologically advanced medium
like the Web to communicate health information is a symbolic act, which will be
interpreted by users in particular ways. Conversely, from the consumer's
perspective, choosing to seek out health information for oneself in a medium
characterized by receiver-driven exposures may have a certain symbolic
influence. If so, it points the way for further work in developing a viable
approach to understanding the processing of online health information.
Appendix A
Script for Pretest
I. Thanks for coming tonight. Our names are Tracy Irani and Tom Kelleher,
and we are doctoral students here in the College. Tonight, we are going to
conduct a survey related to media selection for certain kinds of health
information. We won't be using your names, and your confidentiality will be
protected. To insure that you get your extra credit, when you complete the
survey, we'd like you to put your name, social security number and class on the
sheet up front. Thanks for your participation.
II. Media Conditions
Student health centers typically have information which is available to
students, on a variety of health topics, such as alcohol and alcoholism. I'm
going to read to you descriptions of six different types of media which could be
used to provide information to students on alcoholism, we'd like you to fill out
a survey, which will ask you to rate various dimensions of these conditions, and
then rank your choice of media when you are seeking information that fits a few
specific scenarios.
After you complete the survey, we will be asking you to explain your
rationale for ranking each media option as you did.
1. Face-to face communication. A student health center employs several people
who are capable of answering a wide range of questions regarding alcohol and
alcoholism. These people are willing to discuss any questions you may have in
person. We have asked a few of them to join us this evening and they would be
happy to meet with you in a few minutes on a one-to-one basis if you choose.
Your confidentiality will be protected.
2. Web site. A student health center has a Web site which includes a main home
page, with a colored headline in a specific typeface, plus a button bar and
clickable image map that provide hyperlinks to other pages within and outside
the site. You can email the "webmaster" of the site with comments or questions,
or to ask for help. Other features include links to related sites, a chat room
for real time conversation with other site visitors and links to online support
groups and AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) chapters.
3. Pamphlet. A student health center pamphlet is printed in two colors on a
white paper. It contains information about alcoholism as well a list of
relevant organizations and telephone numbers.
4. Online Web publication. A student health also has an online publication
which contains exactly the same information as the pamphlet we just showed you.
5. Telephone. A student health center has people available to answer your
questions about alcohol and alcoholism over the phone. The phone number is
available to anyone with any questions. We have made phones available for
private use so that you may call the health center if you wish. Health center
employees are ready to handle calls this evening. Your confidentiality will be
protected.
6. A student health center has a voice mail system set up to provide you with
pre-recorded information regarding alcohol and alcoholism. When you dial a
phone number, you will hear a menu of options from which you can choose be
selecting a number on your phone pad. When you make a selection, you will hear
a pre-recorded message on the topic of your choice. You can also leave a
message with your question and a health center employee will return your call
with the answer.
III. Now we'd like to fill out the survey, for which we will distribute copies
to you. Don't put your names on the surveyDwe will use the last five digits of
your phone number for coding purposes only. Don't forget to sign your name to
the extra credit sheet, and thanks again.
Appendix B
Equivocality Questionnaire
For each of the following communication tasks, to what extent do you agree
with the three statements (from 1 = a very little extent to 5 = a very great
extent):
agree to a very great extent
agree to a very little extent
You need to find a definition of the term "alcoholism" for a paper you are
writing.
a. There is more than one satisfactory solution for the problem.
25. 1 2 3 4 5
b. The information can be interpreted in several ways and can lead
to different but acceptable solutions.
c. The information used to make the decisions can mean different
things to different people.
26. 1 2 3 4 5
27. 1 2 3 4 5
You want to find three of the signs of alcohol abuse.
a. There is more than one satisfactory solution for the problem.
28. 1 2 3 4 5
b. The information can be interpreted in several ways and can lead
to different but acceptable solutions.
c. The information used to make the decisions can mean different
things to different people.
29. 1 2 3 4 5
30. 1 2 3 4 5
You want to find out what services the student health center offers for
students.
a. There is more than one satisfactory solution for the problem.
31. 1 2 3 4 5
b. The information can be interpreted in several ways and can lead
to different but acceptable solutions.
c. The information used to make the decisions can mean different
things to different people.
32. 1 2 3 4 5
33. 1 2 3 4 5
You wish to find information about how to recognize alcohol abuse.
a. There is more than one satisfactory solution for the problem.
34. 1 2 3 4 5
b. The information can be interpreted in several ways and can lead
to different but acceptable solutions.
c. The information used to make the decisions can mean different
things to different people.
35. 1 2 3 4 5
36. 1 2 3 4 5
You wish to find information on how to approach someone about a drinking
problem.
a. There is more than one satisfactory solution for the problem.
37. 1 2 3 4 5
b. The information can be interpreted in several ways and can lead
to different but acceptable solutions.
c. The information used to make the decisions can mean different
things to different people.
38. 1 2 3 4 5
39. 1 2 3 4 5
You want to find out what the legal blood alcohol limit is in the state of
Florida.
a. There is more than one satisfactory solution for the problem.
40. 1 2 3 4 5
b. The information can be interpreted in several ways and can lead
to different but acceptable solutions.
c. The information used to make the decisions can mean different
things to different people.
41. 1 2 3 4 5
42. 1 2 3 4 5
Appendix C
Computer/World Wide Web Perceived Self-Efficacy Questionnaire
We often hear about information available to us on the World Wide Web. For the
following questions, imagine that you were given a computer equipped with
standard World Wide Web browsing capabilities and asked to find a specific bit
of available information on the World Wide Web.
The following questions ask you to indicate whether you could use this World
Wide Web browser under a variety of conditions. For each of the conditions,
please rate your confidence by circling a number from 0 to 8, where 0 indicates
"not at all confident", 4 indicates "moderately confident" and 8 indicates
"totally confident."
For example, consider the following sample item:
I COULD FIND THE INFORMATION USING THE WORLD WIDE WEB BROWSER_
Not at
all Moderately Totally
Confident Confident Confident
_if there was someone giving me step by step
instructions. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
The sample response shows that the individual felt he or she could find the
information using the World Wide Web browser with step by step instructions and
was moderately confident that he or she could do so (4 is circled). NOTE:
Please use the bubble sheet for your answers.
I COULD FIND THE INFORMATION USING THE WORLD WIDE WEB BROWSER_
Not at
all Moderately Totally
Confident Confident Confident
_if there was no one around to tell me what to do as I go.
43. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_if I had never used a browser like it before.
44. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_if I had only the browser manuals for reference.
45. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_if I had seen someone else using it before trying it myself.
46. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_if I could call someone for help if I got stuck.
47. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_if someone else had helped me get started.
48. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_if I had a lot of time to find the information.
49. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_if I had the built-in help facility for assistance.
50. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_if someone showed me how to do it first.
51. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_if I had used similar browsers before this one for the same
purposes.
52. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
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[1] Perceived self-efficacy is derived from social cognitive theory where
Bandura defines it as ". . .the conviction that one can successfully execute the
behavior to produce. . . [desired] outcomes" (1977, p.79).
[2] No single items could be removed to improve the scale. Two added perceived
self-efficacy items specific to health information tasks correlated positively
with these ten items. Four computer/Internet experience items also correlated
positively with each of the ten items in the perceived self-efficacy scale.
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