Can you referee a paper on heuristic evaluation of web credibility?
Don Hameluck
Greetings UXIrregulars,
I'm an independent usability / user-experience contractor in the Toronto-area and also an editor for the journal "Interacting with Computers". My role at the journal is to find qualified referees to review papers submitted for publication and, based on those reviews, make the decision of whether to publish the paper.
I just received a paper for review entitled "Evaluation of Credibility of Internet Shopping: A Heuristic Approach". Its based on J.Nielsen's heuristic approach and BJ Fogg's web credibility work. I'm looking for experienced UX'ers with some knowledge of these approaches, and internet shopping, to give their opinion on whether the paper merits publication. The paper is of practical interest and an easy read (not tediously scientific), and I'm trying to determine if it is conceptually sound and contributes enough to practitioners that it should be published. I'll be acting as a reviewer as well.
If you think you have the knowledge, time, and interest, please email me your contact info and I'll forward a PDF of the paper. It's 25 pages (double-spaced) and I'd need your review (maybe two or three paragraphs) back around mid/late February. The Abstract is below.
Thanks! Don
Don Hameluck, Ph.D
www.dh-usability.com
905-868-8145
Abstract: Credibility is an important consideration of Internet shopping. As the major point of interaction, the interface design is a critical factor for customers to judge credibility. This study examined the credibility of Internet shopping by incorporating Fogg's Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility into Nielsen's heuristic evaluation. Three UK car insurance websites were selected for evaluation: including the AA, Norwich Union and Tesco. The results show the most significant credibility problems can be found to lie in the areas of 'trustworthiness', 'expertise' and 'real-world feel'. The findings of this study were then used to develop a set of credibility design guidelines to support the improved development of future Internet shopping interface designs.