Developing and validating the information credibility assessment scale: a mixed-method approach
Mengxue Ou, Shirley S. HoPurpose
Information Credibility Assessment (ICA) is essential for decision-making, attitude formation and behavioural responses, particularly in an era characterized by the rapid spread of misinformation. While prior research across multiple disciplines has developed measures of credibility evaluation, existing scales often focus on specific dimensions or contexts and do not fully capture the process-oriented nature of how individuals assess credibility when encountering information. This study develops and validates the ICA scale using a mixed-methods approach.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the audience acts of authentication (AAA) framework, we first established the ICA processes dimensions and generated scale items through open-ended surveys, expert evaluations and cognitive testing. We then collected and analysed two rounds of survey data to refine and validate the ICA scale.
Findings
Our study identified and confirmed a second-order, two-factor structure of the ICA scale (32 items), which comprises five latent factors: source and content evaluation, channel evaluation, evaluation based on personal factors, proactive information seeking and ambient information monitoring. These factors coalesce into two higher-order dimensions: internal and external ICA. We also confirmed the scale's criterion, divergent and predictive validity.
Originality/value
This study reconceptualizes ICA as a multidimensional and process-oriented construct rather than a static credibility judgment. It also develops and validates the first comprehensive ICA scale that integrates both internal cognitive evaluations and external behavioural verification strategies within a unified framework. Additionally, it refines the AAA framework by showing that credibility verification is organized around verification strategies rather than source types, while demonstrating that internal and external ICA have distinct implications for misinformation correction.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: Link to the website.