Factors affecting the successful use of Web sites.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Every second of every minute of every day, many people search the World Wide Web for information. People are less likely to use hard copy telephone books, encyclopedias, libraries, or other traditional methods of research. They access these traditional resources through web based portals. People use the web to find restaurants, go on vacation, to answer health questions, and students use the web for everything. How do people make judgments about the accuracy or reliability of information they get from a web site? On what basis do they make a decision to use a particular web site? Current studies conducted in a Canadian university indicate that people make a decision in less than half a second about whether they are going to look at a web site or not.
Methods to study the commercial aspects of the World Wide Web (WWW) have been the primary focus of research in a Web context. In a systematic effort to study the success measures related to information use of the WWW, a model was developed and tested. The process included a pre-pilot study to develop a questionnaire and a standardized protocol for administration of the questionnaire. A pilot study was then conducted to test the outcomes from the pre-pilot and determine if the protocol was satisfactory. The full study was subsequently conducted. The Web Success Model is based on the IS Success Model, the Technology Acceptance model, and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model as well as research in the areas of information quality and system design. The model was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling which allowed for confirmatory factor analysis of the constructs and an identification of the relationships between the constructs with path coefficients. Prior research has focused on the design; including the graphics, navigation, structure, and flow of the web site. This study focuses on the human factors that relate to the use of the web by college students looking for information to answer course related content questions.