Understanding young singaporeans gathering and credibility assessments of online sexual health information 2

Appendices 134 Appendix 1.1: Overview of Singapore Education Landscape (MOE, 2009) 135 Appendix 1.2: Figures and tables extracted from IDA Annual Survey on Infocomm usage in households and by individuals 1.2a: Access to computer at any location (2007) 1 1.2b: Usage of Computer over 12 months by age (2007)2 1 Computer access to computers at any location is highest for age groups 7 to 14 and 15 to 29 years. 2 Computer users are highest for age group 15 to 29 years. 136 1.2c: Internet activities engaged by users from the various age groups (2007)3 3 The top three Internet activities engaged by 15 to 29 years old are for communicating, getting information and leisure activities. 137 1.2d: Use of Portable Equipment 4 4 The various uses of portable equipment are highest for age group 15 to 29 years. 138 Appendix 2.1: Blurbs of 2001 to 2010 studies related to young people, Singapore, sexual health and/or Internet 2010 No. Author(s), Year 1 Buhi, Daley, Fuhrmann, & Smith (2010). Study Objectives/ Research Questions The purpose of this study was to determine how college students search for online sexual health information and whether they retrieve accurate answers to sexual health questions. Respondents, Research Methods and Results In fall 2007, 34 first-year, first-semester undergraduates participated in an observational research study, using Camtasia Studio. Most students found accurate answers to the 12 sexual health questions posed. Finding local information and resources online proved more difficult than finding answers to general sexual health questions. Based on their findings, the authors argue that young people must be educated about how Web search engine results are prioritized/ displayed and trained to evaluate Web sites for reliable information. Related Topics Information seeking Internet Health information Sexual health 2009 No. Author(s), Year 2 Rains & Karmikel (2009) Study Objectives/ Research Questions The study reported here examined perceptions of health website credibility during the process of acquiring health information using the World Wide Web. The relationships between perceptions of website credibility and both message characteristics (e.g., statistics, testimonials) and structural features of health websites (e.g., privacy policy statement, third-party endorsements) were assessed. Additionally, one’s Web-use orientation (i.e., searching or surfing) was evaluated as a moderator of the preceding relationships. Respondents, Research Methods and Results The study sample consisted of 86 undergraduate students recruited from Communication courses at a large Southwestern university. Participants’ ages ranged between 19 and 32 years. Sixty-three (73.3%) of the participants were female and 22 (25.6%) were male. A 2 x 2 between-participants design was used in this study. Web-use orientation (searching/surfing) and the health topic (smoking cessation/Type I diabetes) were the independent variables. The health topic was manipulated in this study in order mitigate the possibility of fixed-message effects and increase the external validity of the study. The participants met in a computer lab and were informed that they would be completing an information-seeking task and a questionnaire. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions: searching for smoking cessation information (n = 21), surfing about smoking cessation information (n = 22), searching for diabetes information (n = 19), surfing about diabetes (n = 24). Related Topics Web credibility Informationseeking Internet Health website The results showed a positive relationship between the presence of structural features and perceptions of website credibility as well as a positive relationship between the presence of message characteristics and attitudes about the health topic. Although Web-use orientation moderated the relationship between message characteristics and perceptions of website credibility, the nature of this relationship was inconsistent with study predictions. 139 No. Author(s), Year 3 Walraven, BrandGruwel & Boshuizen (2009). Study Objectives/ Research Questions The study investigates the criteria secondary educational students use while searching the Web for information. Respondents, Research Methods and Results 23 students from two secondary school participated in this study. All students (8 boys and 15 girls; mean age 14.22, SD 0.422) were in the 9th grade of secondary education (Dutch: VWO, 6 year program). Students solved two information problems while thinking aloud. After completing the tasks, they were interviewed in groups on their use of criteria. Related Topics Information problem solving Internet 4 Makenzius,Ga°di n, Tyde´n, Romild, & Larsson (2009). To investigate young male students’ behaviour, knowledge, attitudes, and needs related to sexual and reproductive health. Differences between students on vocational and academic study programmes were also investigated. Results showed that students did not evaluate results, source and information very often. The criteria students mentioned when asked which criteria were important for evaluating information were not always the same criteria they mentioned while solving the information problems. They mentioned more criteria but also admitted not always using these criteria while searching the Web. A questionnaire consisting of 87 multiple choice questions was distributed to 253 male students attending three upper secondary schools in a single Swedish county. During the spring of 2007, 252 young male students (*18 years old), from the third year of three upper secondary schools were invited to participate in the study. The response rate was 76% and respondents were equally distributed between two groups: academic students (n=97), and vocational students (n=95). They were in the final stages of the programme, only two months ahead of graduation. Sexual health A study-specific questionnaire, containing 87 multiple-choice questions investigated participants’ behaviour, knowledge, attitudes, and needs related to sexual and reproductive health. Two-thirds of the questions had been used in a large national survey in 1996. Onethird of the questions were constructed specifically for this study. The respondents were not asked for their sexual orientation but in the missive and in the questionnaire, it was explicitly stated that the questions were directed at everyone: heterosexual, bisexual and homosexual, experienced and inexperienced. Questions about intercourse were defined as either vaginal or/and anal. All questions, except for the one on ECPs, were relevant to everyone regardless of sexual orientation. The principals of each school were informed about the study and they approved the questionnaire. The principals and the class teacher received a missive containing all information about the study. All participants received an enhanced missive, informing them about the aim of the study and the fact that participation was anonymous and voluntary. The questionnaires were distributed during regular lessons, by the first author or by the class teacher, and took between 20 and 40 minutes to complete. This study confirmed previous findings that vocational students have a higher risk lifestyle than those in academic programme. Vocational students reported more tobacco use, had an earlier sexual debut, more sexual partners, and more frequent unprotected sex at the first date. School and 140 friends were the two most reported sources of knowledge about sexuality, but some young males over estimated their own knowledge. The respondents wanted more information about female and male anatomy and physiology, STIs, and relations. Contemporary Swedish studies, including this one, have identified more liberal attitudes in sexual matters than earlier surveys1,2. These liberal attitudes are probably contributing to the rising number of CT infections and unplanned pregnancies. One hundred and thirty-six of the 192 respondents (71%) reported experience of sexual intercourse. The median age at first intercourse among these students was 17 years (Table 1). However, the vocational students had had their sexual debut at a younger age than those in academic study programmes. The main sources of the students’ knowledge of sexual and reproductive matters were the secondary school (grades 6–9) and friends, in that order (Table 2). No one reported upper secondary school as the main source of knowledge. Only 3% of the academic students and 7% of the vocational students considered that the Internet was their main source of sexual and reproductive knowledge. Two thirds (66%) of the respondents considered they had sufficient knowledge of sexual and reproductive health matters. More academic students (79%) than those in vocational programmes (59%) had sometimes felt a need to talk to someone about their own sexuality, with the aim of getting advice and counselling 2008 No. 5 Author(s), Year Hargittai & Hinnant (2008). Study Objectives/ Research Questions This article examined differences in young adults’ online activities to expand understanding of the digital divide. Respondents, Research Methods & Results A telephone survey was conducted using a sample of listed households of 18- to 26year-olds compiled from more than 3,200 original public and private sources including white pages and census information. The survey was conducted using computerassisted telephone interviewing to reduce interview length and minimize recording errors. Findings suggested that those with higher levels of education and of a more resourcerich background used the Web for more “capital enhancing” activities. Detailed analyses of user attributes also revealed that online skill was an important mediating factor in the types of activities people pursued online. Related Topics skill self-perceived knowledge Internet; Web use online behaviour young adults 141 No. 6 Author(s), Year Rains (2008) Study Objectives/ Research Questions To test the preceding model, data were collected using a questionnaire posted on a secure website. Students in a communication course at a large Southwestern. 7 Harvey, Churchill, Crawford, Brown, Mullany, Macfarlane & McPherson (2008) This paper reports on a study of emails written in to Teenage Health Freak, a UK-based website concerned with health issues for young people. seeking online health advice The aims of this study were to investigate concerns and difficulties relating to communication among adolescents. Respondents, Research Methods & Results Hypothesized Model of Internet Self-Efficacy as a Partial Mediator of One’s Motivation to be Involved in One’s Health and Experience using the Web and Information Seeking Processes and Outcomes. Related Topics Web information seeking University were given extra-credit for soliciting respondents who were (a) at least 18 years of age, (b) not a student nor an employee of the university, and who (c) had used the Internet=Web during the previous 6 months to acquire health information. Students were sent a form e-mail message explaining the study and asked to forward it to potential respondents. The form e-mail message contained a link directing respondents to the study website. A total of 157 respondents completed the questionnaire. It is widely known that barriers exist in communication between adolescents and health professionals. However, little is known about the actual language used by young people articulating such difficulties and whether email might allow them to overcome these problems. Health Internet The study design was a corpus linguistic analysis of a million-word adolescent health email database based on 62 794 emails from young people requesting health advice from a prominent UK-hosted and doctor-led website. Results show that young people reported various concerns about their health. They described numerous difficulties in disclosing such concerns to other people, in particular to parents and doctors. However, they readily expressed their concerns by email, displaying elevated levels of directness, particularly in relation to potentially sensitive or embarrassing topics. Email has the potential to facilitate and supplement face-to-face consultations with health professionals. Increased adoption of email by health providers may be an efficient means of engaging with a generation often reluctant to access more traditional health care services and thus encourage them to enter the primary care setting more readily. 142 2007 No. 8 Author(s), Year Flanagin & Metzger (2007). Study Objectives/ Research Questions RQ1:What is the relative importance of aspects of the source (i.e. familiarity with website sponsors) and website attributes in people’s credibility assessments? RQ2: What is the relation between self-reported and observed information verification behaviours? Respondents, Research Methods & Results 574 individuals participated in the study. Of the participants 39 percent were male and 61 percent were female. The range of participant ages was 18 to 83 years, with a mean age of 31.99 years. This study used a 4 x 2 experimental design that varied the genre of website (news organization, e-commerce, special interest, or personal sites) with verity of the site (a fictional or real site) to test the hypotheses and research questions. The dependent variables were the three types of credibility perceptions. Related Topics Credibility Information verification Internet The results show that perceptions of credibility differed, such that news organization websites were rated highest and personal websites lowest, in terms of message, sponsor, and overall site credibility, with e-commerce and special interest sites rated between these. The results also indicated that credibility assessments appear to be primarily due to website attributes (e.g. design features, depth of content, site complexity) rather than to familiarity with website sponsors. Finally, there was a negative relationship between self-reported and observed information verification behaviour and a positive relationship between self-reported verification and internet/web experience . 9 Warner & Procaccino. (2007). RQ1. Why do women who use the Web, as compared with those who do not, look for health information? RQ2. Is the Web making it easier to find information? RQ3. How do women who use the Web, as compared with those who do not, use the health information they find? RQ4. Are Web users more aware of health information resources? Based on previously collected data, this article represents an extension of the earlier analysis with its focus on women who, at least to some extent, seek health care information via The Web (herein, Web user), a topic not thoroughly addressed in the earlier study. Health information Internet A comparison of female Web users and non-Web users who seek health information revealed that Web users sought health information at a higher rate than non-Web users. Web users were more likely to communicate with medical professionals about the health information found and claimed that their decisions about health treatments were influenced by the health information. In most cases, Web users expressed a higher awareness of resources, regardless of format. Web users did not report that finding health information, from any channel, however, was noticeably easier. 143 2006 No. 10 2005 No. 11 Author(s), Year Gray & Klein (2006). Author(s), Year Gray, Klein, Noyce, Sesselberg &Cantrill, (2005). Study Objectives/ Research Questions Respondents, Research Methods & Results Adolescents are using the Internet in order to find health information on a range of subjects. Search engines are the primary strategy for such searches. The quality of the online experience is often limited by health/online literacy skills. The only reference to adolescents' quests for online information about sexuality was that they frequently sought this information from a Web site created primarily to provide information about sexually transmitted diseases. Study Objectives/ Research Questions This paper seeks to explore UK and US adolescents’ perceptions and experiences of online health information relating to previous experience of use, saliency of the information, and credibility of the medium. Respondents, Research Methods & Results 157 English-speaking adolescents (aged 11- 19) in diverse geographical and socioeconomic settings in UK secondary schools and US middle / high schools. Qualitative: A series of 26 single gender focus groups - discussions were recorded on audiotape and transcribed. Focus group discussions included perceptions of how the Internet had changed participants’ leisure/work activities and experiences, and perceptions of how the Internet could be use to find health information. A short Internet exercise was undertaken in 20 of the 26 groups. Each group was asked to choose a health-related topic and search for information on the Internet. 12 Sun, Unger, et al. (2005). Research studies how Internet accessibility and usage are related to demographic, psychosocial, behavioural, and other health related characteristics. Many students cited difficulties in accessing health information online. Functional health literacy challenges included, for example, spelling medical terms correctly and being able to construct questions describing symptoms accurately. Critical challenges included discerning relevance of information retrieved by search engines and knowing which sites to trust. Interactive challenges included the appropriate application of health information to address personal health concerns within their local neighbourhood. 2373 7th grade students of various ethnic groups in Southern California Related Topics Sexual Health Internet Related Topics Health Internet Informationseeking Literacy Credibility Internet Cross-sectional survey. Logistic regressions were conducted to assess the associations between Internet users with selected demographic, psychosocial, behavioural variables and self-reported health statuses. Nearly all (99%) of the respondents could access the Internet either at school or at home. Higher SES and Asian ethnicity were associated with higher 144 internet use. Among those who could access the Internet and after adjusting for the selected demographic and psychosocial variables, depression was positively related with chat-room use and using the Internet longer than 1 hour per day at home, and hostility was positively related with Internet favouring (All ORs = 1.2 for +1 STD, p < 0.05). Less parental monitoring and more unsupervised time were positively related to email use, chat-room use, and at home Internet use (ORs for +1 STD ranged from 1.2 to 2.0, all p < 0.05), but not related to at school Internet use. 2004 No. 13 14 15 Author(s), Year Spink, Koricich & Jansen (2004). Study Objectives/ Research Questions The objective is was to enhance understanding of sexually-related information seeking on the Web, including: 1. Identify the proportion of sexually-related queries. 2. Compare the characteristics of sexual queries submitted by Alta Vista and AlltheWeb.com users. Spink,, Ozmutlu & Lorence (2004). The study of Web sexual queries provides insight into sexual-related information-seeking behaviour including: (1) Identifying the proportion of sexualrelated queries, and (2) Comparing the characteristics of sexual and non-sexual queries. It examined the characteristics of sexually related queries, including visual images or textual descriptions of sexual behaviour. • To develop a deeper understanding of students, their information-seeking practices and what motivated them to learn. • To understand their own practices as teachers in online classrooms. • To design, evaluate and iteratively refine the curriculum for exploratory learning, through drawing based on research conducted. Walton & Archer (2004). Respondents, Research Methods & Results Qualitatively analyzed queries from logs of 1,025,910 Alta Vista and AlltheWeb.com Web user queries from 2001. Compared the differences in sexually-related Web searching between Alta Vista and AlltheWeb.com users. Data showed a slightly higher percentage of searches for sexual material by the EuropeanAlltheWeb.com users. Alta Vista users submitted more terms per sexually-related query, but submitted fewer queries per session than the AlltheWeb.com users. In both AlltheWeb.com and Alta Vista sexually-related queries, the term “sex” was the most frequently occurring term, but shared many of the most frequently used terms, but with a different percentage of use. Qualitative: Study analyzed 58,027 queries from a log of 1,025,910 Excite Web user queries from 1999. Related Topics Sexual Health Internet Findings show that sexual and non-sexual-related queries exhibited differences in session duration, query outcomes, and search term choices. Three cohorts of first year University of Cape Town engineering students from previously disadvantaged schooling backgrounds. Qualitative: online discussions, end of-term interviews, course evaluations, participatory evaluations, student assignments, web-searching case studies, and web searching exercises. Internet InformationSeeking Literacy At the start of the course, students provided with ‘canned searches’ or pre- 145 planned detective-hunts for information. Students are required to interpret the search results and make selections. Prior tests were conducted on these searches using a range of keywords which will eventually present students with pre-formulated queries that will lead them to at least one useful source. 2003 No. 16 Author(s), Year Becker (2003). • • • 2002 No. 17 18 Author(s), Year Cothey (2002). Gordon (2002). Study Objectives/ Research Questions To explore student perceptions of the role of the Internet in information searching, To collect data on how students seek information on the Internet, and To identify skill gaps in seeking for information. Study Objectives/ Research Questions To detect change in an individual’s Web information-seeking behaviour as s/he gains experience. (a) Individuals would increase their active information seeking, for example, by an increased use of search engines; (b) There would be increasing commonality among individuals in the selection of Web sites as more useful sites are revisited and less useful sites ignored. How did tenth-grade biology students who learnt and used concept mapping in the classroom for seven months search for information in the context of a library research assignment? (a) How did student mappers and nonmappers search for information in the context of the same library research assignment? Respondents, Research Methods & Results 20 undergraduate students. Related Topics Internet Quantitative: Data generated by the background questionnaire was tabulated. Frequency distributions were computed. InformationSeeking Qualitative: Use of semi-structured interview and content analysis. During the interview sessions, each respondent has to describe two critical incidents - a successful and unsuccessful Web search. Literacy Respondents, Research Methods & Results 206 students drawn from the general population of students at a Higher Education institution in the UK. Quantitative: Data analysis combined the technique of Web transaction log analysis with the conditional regression model of longitudinal analysis using a split-half technique. Related Topics Internet InformationSeeking Literacy The study took place in the “real world” context of the user’s Web information seeking. Information tasks were constructed by the users and reflected the users’ own particular information needs. 10 tenth grade students at a private American school in Europe. Internet Quantitative: Bayesian statistics and Fano method from information theory were used to triangulate the qualitative data. InformationSeeking Qualitative: Audio-taped think-aloud search sessions followed by structured interviews. Stimulated recall was used as an interview method, key Literacy 146 No. 19 Author(s), Year Vansickle (2002). (b) How did concept formation influence search strategies and relate to developing search strategies? (c) How did expert searches of the librarian and teacher compare with each other and with the searching of mappers and nonmappers? (d) How did student searching relate to stages of Kuhlthau (1993) Information Search Process? Study Objectives/ Research Questions • To examine which tenth-grade students enrolled in three academic tracks of language arts know about using the Web and how they search for information located on it. • To explore if high school students who spanned a range of academic abilities (a) differ in their knowledge about the Web; and (b) differ in how they search for and use information. • Hypothesis 1: There is a relationship between academic placement and a student’s general knowledge and use of the Web. • Hypothesis 2: There is a relationship between academic placement and a student’s Web searching skills. informants were provided with written transcriptions of their think-aloud sessions. Participant maintained journals. Respondent searched print and electronic sources for the purpose of completing a research assignment as part of the school’s biology curriculum. Respondents, Research Methods & Results 136 students (40 technical students, 52 college preparatory students, and 44 honors students) across seven sections of tenth-grade language arts classes. Quantitative: The major research hypotheses addressed in this study focused on two dependent variable sets, general knowledge (GK) and search knowledge (SK), and their relationship to academic track (the independent variable). Multivariate analysis of variance tests were conducted to determine whether students in the three academic groups varied significantly from one another on the GK and SK dependent variable sets. Related Topics Internet InformationSeeking Literacy Qualitative: Search protocol. A search protocol of four hierarchically arranged search tasks was developed for the qualitative portion of this study. 2001 No. 20 Author(s), Year Eastin. (2001). Study Objectives/ Research Questions Research indicates that medical professionals do not author an extensive amount of health information available on the Internet. This creates a possibility for false information, thereby potentially leading ill people away from proper care. One way to begin addressing this problem is to assess perceptions of credibility about information found online. Respondents, Research Methods & Results A total of 125 students from two introductory communication courses at a large midwestern university were used to conduct a between-groups, 2 (message type) x 3 (source type) factorial design experiment. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the six conditions. Upon assignment, participants were instructed to assess a health-related Web site they were told was pre-selected from the Internet earlier that day.(Appendix A). They were then instructed this information would be used to write a report for class. While students are considered convenient and non-representative, such a sample for this project was useful as it represents the largest population of Internet users. However, it should be noted that the largest group of online Related Topics Internet Credibility Information online 147 health information seekers are adults. Each participant viewed a Web site containing one of two types of information. Specifically, this Web-based information related to one of two topics: (1) an unknown health topic syphilis; and (2) a known health topic, HIV. Using information obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a pretest indicated twelve facts about syphilis that at least 90 percent of the population did not know,1 and twelve facts about HIV that at least 90 percent of the population were aware of (n=78). Prior research (Petty & Cacioppo, 1988) suggests that relevancy can also affect message perception; therefore, a 10-point Likert type item was used to assess the relevancy of syphilis (M = 8.38) and HIV (HIV, M = 8.13) (t = .167, p = .868). These findings suggest that both topics were perceived as highly personally relevant. Also manipulated was the putative author of each Web site. Using10-point Likert-type items, a pretest using the HIV topic identified three significantly different sources consistent with those available online (F(2,171) = 1,261.93, p < .000). "Dr. William Blake -- HIV specialist" was identified as an expert source (M = 9.74, SD = .26); "Esther Smith -- Widow of an AIDS victim" was identified as a moderately expert source (M = 5.62, SD = 1.22); and "Tim Alster- a high school freshman" was identified as a low expert source (M = 1.72, SD = .73). All three credibility means were found to be significantly different from one another at p < .001 using the Scheffé test. These sources were also applied to the syphilis condition. Each source was prominently displayed on all Web pages. (Both doctors and high school students have commonly been used as high and low credible sources (O'Keefe, 1990)). While findings did not indicate a significant interaction between source and content type, they did indicate an overall tendency to rate all information as relatively credible. In addition, results indicate that both knowledge of content and source expertise affect perceptions of online health information While no significant interaction was found between knowledge of content and source expertise (Hypothesis 1), the findings did suggest that source expertise (and/or age and/or gender) and knowledge of content (and/or order effects) affect perception of message credibility. This suggests that when people evaluate online health information, the heuristic cues they attend to vary, depending on the subject matter. 148 Appendix 3.1: Age-group statistics according to ethnic group 149 Appendix 3.2: Detailed Profiles of Respondents Table 3.2b Prior experiences seeking information on: Education Pseudonym Race Gender Birth yr Internet Use 1 - 6 hrs University Gabriella Chinese Female 1988 • • • Barbara Malay Chinese Female Female 1989 1988 Polytechnic Chinese Male 1991 Ellen Chinese Female Female 1990 Yes Yes • Had utilised the Internet to get physical health information. • • • Initially indicates that had not sought health related information online. During interview, found that had sought physical and sexual health issues using search engine. Yes Yes Yes Seek information for school such as homework and project. For leisure such as movies and dramas, and read international news. Yes Yes • • • • • Yes For school such as homework and project. For leisure such as movies and music, and read international and local news. 6 - 12 hrs • • • 1990 • • No Yes Yes No Reads international, “worldwide” news online. Chats with his classmates on MSN and uses the Internet for schoolwork. For entertainment such as sports, movies, music, and games. 1 - 6 hrs Chinese Yes • Reads international, regional and local news online. • For schoolwork and personal interests, namely movies and music. • Uses new social networking browser, Flock. 1 - 6 hrs • Denisa Health using Internet Had sought physical health information previously for a social work module using Google. 6 - 12 hrs Darren Sexual Health • To do schoolwork, find jobs and internships. Looks at interests like music, baking, shopping, Uses Facebook. 12 - 16 hrs Zarina Health in general Although in questionnaire stated using the Internet for 1 to 6 hours, said that used Internet between 9am to 5pm on weekdays in school. Reads international and local news online, and blogs. To do homework, find jobs, and get entertainment like music and movies. Yes Yes Had sought physical, psychological and sexual information online. Yes No Yes Had sought information on physical health previously by visiting Health Promotion Board website. 150 Education Pseudonym Race Gender Prior experiences seeking information on: Birth yr Internet Use 6 - 12 hrs Eric Felix Chinese Chinese Male Male 1991 1991 • • • Male 1989 Gordon Chinese Female Male 1991 1991 Had sought physical health information by looking at magazines. Came across sexual health information in magazine as well. • • • Yes • Yes • Male Yes No No Yes • Had sought physical health, and medicinal health information. Medicinal health information conducted for school project was on cholesterol. During interview, mentioned that he had learnt about sex-related information during the biology classes in secondary school. Yes No No Reads regional and local news online. For schoolwork, and spends time online for entertainment specifically, movies and music. 6 - 12 hrs • Had sought psychological health information. • • • • Reads regional and local news online. For school, particularly project and research work. For entertainment specifically, movies and music. • • • Chinese Yes • Seeks information related to school and personal interest. For personal interest, gets information on sports, movies, music, Manga and fashion. Had recently lost his laptop and therefore, lost his bookmark list. • In the questionnaire, stated that he used Internet for 1 to 6 hours. However, during interview, said that he uses Internet for half day. Uses Internet to seek information for school and for interest such as sports, movies, and music, and read international and local news. Yes 1 - 6 hrs Haoren Yes • • 6 - 12 hrs Chinese Yes Had looked for physical, psychological, and sexual health-related information. Polytechnic Hannah Health using Internet • 6 - 12 hrs Malay Sexual Health Reads regional and local news online. For school, particularly homework, project, and personal research. Spends time on the Internet for entertainment specifically, sports, movies, and music. 1 - 6 hrs • Jamal Health in general 1991 • Seek information for school and for interest such as sports, movies, and music, and read international, regional, and local news. Uses Internet to look for jobs. Yes Had sought physical health information. Yes • Yes Yes Yes Had sought physical, psychological, and sexual information. 151 Prior experiences seeking information on: Education Pseudonym Race Gender Birth yr Internet Use 6 - 12 hrs Ian Chinese Male 1991 • • • • • Has a personal laptop. Internet usage leans towards 12 hours. School holidays: mostly uses Internet at home Term time: mainly uses in school. Uses the Internet to log into MSN and Facebook, watches television shows, and play games. • • • • 1 - 6 hrs Adeela Indian Female 1991 • Had used Internet to sought information for schoolwork and music, and find jobs. Sunil Indian Male 1991 Polytechnic Reads international news online, gathers information for schoolwork, and personal interests like movies and music, and looks for jobs. Chinese Male 1991 • • • Amelia Chinese Other Male Female 1991 No No No Said that he did not think he had looked for health-related information online. Could not remember if had learnt about sex-related information in secondary two or secondary three. Could not remember subject taught which includes sex – “I don’t know what it is called...moral education or something...part of the subject.” Nonetheless, remembered learning “about STDs and everything.” Yes Yes Yes • Had used Internet to get physical health information. Yes No No No No No Yes Yes No Reads international, regional, and local news online. “Blog hopping” and uses Facebook. Uses Internet to get information for schoolwork and for topics of interest like music, film making, uni-cycling, and anime. 1 - 6 hrs Kaijie Health using Internet Had looked for psychological and sexual information online. 1 - 6 hrs Jonathan Sexual Health • 12 - 16 hrs • Health in general • • Reads the local news online. Uses Internet to get information for schoolwork and music interest. 1 - 6 hrs • Had sought sexual health information by looking at books in the library. • • In getting information for Food and Nutrition course, used search engines, Yahoo and Google. 1991 • • Looks at online information for school and for interest such as movies and music, Reads international, regional, and local news. Find jobs. No No No 152 Education Pseudonym Race Gender Prior experiences seeking information on: Birth yr Internet Use 6 - 12 hrs NAFA Cathy Chinese Female 1990 • • Reads international and local news online. Seeks information for school projects, for entertainment like movies and music. 1 - 6 hrs • • • Anthony Chinese Male 1991 • • • • 1• • • Junior College Yuping Chinese Female • 1991 • • • • • 6 - 12 hrs Bard Chinese Male 1991 • Reads international, regional, and local news online. Seeks information internships, schoolwork, scholarships, and school events. For entertainment such as movies, music, and computer games. Chinese Male 1991 • • • Reads international, regional, and local news online. For schoolwork. For entertainment such as movies, music, and video games. Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes • 6 - 12 hrs Caleb Health using Internet For school, had sought health related information in library. Secondary school: learnt about sex education and remembered watching same video several times. Initially in questionnaire, did not indicate sought health related information online. During interview, found that she has looked for sexrelated information in magazine websites. Happened because her friends (males and females) refused to provide her meaning of orgasm. Went online for understand what word means. • • • Sexual Health Had sought physical health information Uses both at home and in school. As the school filters several sites such as social networking sites, visits those sites at home. At home, uses a personal laptop. However, parents only allow using Internet in the dining room so that they can see what he was doing. For school and personal interests. For personal interests, seeks movies and music. Reads international news. Does not bookmark websites. 6 hrs Shared computer but mostly uses PC. PC placed in the dining room due to space constraints. Looks at social networking sites, and receives entertainment topics such as movies, music and fashion. Health in general No • Yes Yes Had sought physical and sexual health information. No No Had sought physical, psychological, and sexual healthrelated information. 153 Education Pseudonym Race Gender Birth yr Prior experiences seeking information on: Health in Sexual Health using general Health Internet Yes No No Internet Use 1 - 6 hrs Faisal Malay Male 1991 • • Had sought physical and psychological information. • For school and for interest such as movies, music, recipes, and fashion. • Reads international and local news online. 1 - 6 hrs • Had sought physical and sexual information using Wikipedia and Google. • Had sought physical and sexual information. • In questionnaire, ticked that he had sought physical health information only. During interview, found that he had sought human reproduction information on the Internet. Yes Yes Yes For school and for interest such as sports, movies, music, and photography, and read international, regional and local news. 1 - 6 hrs Feifei Chinese Female 1990 Gayathri Indian Female 1991 • • 1991 • • • Junior College For school and for interest such as movies and music. Read international and local news. Yes Yes 1 - 6 hrs Bharat Indian Male For school projects. For areas of interest like sports, movies, and music. Reads regional news. Yes • 1 - 6 hrs Centralised institution Aishah Malay Female 1988 • • • • • Uses shared PC placed near the living room. Surfs about five hours at home. Limited to 1-hr usage in school. For school, and personal interest. Personal interest: looks for jobs, music, and reads up on the local news, and health issues. • • • • < 1hr Ali Malay Male 1989 ITE • • • Uses shared PC placed in the study room. Read soccer news and looks for music. For school projects, normally uses Yahoo to seek information. • 1 - 6 hrs Ingrid Chinese Female 1989 • • • Reads international news online. For schoolwork. Sought entertainment information like music and movies. • Yes Yes Yes No No Had sought information relating to one’s physical, psychological, and sexual well-being. Typically uses Wikipedia. Seeks such information and posts on blog to “create awareness" for friends involved in unhealthy activities. Had conducted school project on abortion using Internet. No No No Used the term 'vaguely' to describe memory of learning sex education in school. Yes • Yes Yes Yes Had sought information on physical and sexual health previously and visited the Health Promotion Board website to do so. Had sought sexual health information for a science project presentation, and smoking for a life skills class. 154 Education Pseudonym Race Gender Birth yr Prior experiences seeking information on: Sexual Health using Health in general Health Internet Yes No No Internet Use 6 - 12 hrs ITE ITE ITE Special School Jessica Kai Ling Keegan Agnes Chinese Chinese Chinese Chinese Female Female Male Female 1988 1989 1989 1991 • Has a personal laptop. • For school project, and spends time online for entertainment specifically, movies, music, and dramas. 1 - 6 hrs • Had looked for physical health information. • For schoolwork and projects, entertainment, like music and movies. • Had used the Internet for projects. • Forgot to bring her bookmarks. 6 - 12 hrs • • Did not click on sexual health. During interview, found that she had sought abortion for school project using the Internet. • Reads international, regional and local news online. • For schoolwork and personal interests. • Sought jobs. 1 - 6 hrs • Had sought information on different vitamins using Yahoo for tuition homework. • • • • In questionnaire, indicated that she had not sought sexual health information. Found that she had sought such information using Wikipedia and Yahoo for a school project. Also visited .org and .gov websites. No No No Recently completed her 1-yr stay on campus. During that period, she spent a longer time on the Internet. At home, must use personal laptop in living room to have Internet access as it is wired to the main PC. Yes No Yes • 1 - 6 hrs Secondary 5 Secondary 5 Priya Badrisah Indian Malay Female Female 1990 1991 Yes No Yes Yes No Yes • Uses shared PC placed in the study room. • Typically visit social networking websites, Friendster and Facebook. For school projects, and seeks information on jobs, movies, and music. 1 - 6 hrs • • • Had learnt sex education from school. School showed sex education videos. Therefore, did not see a need to look for such information. • Uses shared PC placed in the living room. • When she is at home, she is mostly on the Internet. • Does not keep a list of favourite websites because she does not know about bookmarking – “I don’t know it exists in the first place.” • Typically logs on Instant Messenger (IM). • For school: Researched for projects and homework. • For personal interests: Visits social networking sites and blogs. • • Had sought online health diseases unrelated to sex. Remembered that in Secondary 2, school showed different videos during pastoral care period held weekly. Separate gender viewings of videos. Main ideas taught in school were to say no, as sex leads to pregnancy. Explained that lessons did not teach students how to prevent pregnancy. Instead, showed how youths’ live were ruined once they engaged in sexual activity. Also remembered reading about sexual abuse in Cleo and Teenage magazines. Yes • • • • • No Yes 155 Appendix 3.3: Coding 3.3a: Coding Frame for Video Recording Keys website URL directly into browser address box Keys search string into search engine box Amends search string in search engine box Studies information on search engine search results page Clicks on hyperlink/button in search engine results page Studies information on site Saves webpage on site Download file from the site Keys search string into retail site search engine Clicks on hyperlink/button in site Clicks on image in site Clicks on hyperlink/button in thirdparty site Clicks on online advertisement Studies information in pop-up window Closes pop-up window Leaves website Opens additional Internet browser Opens additional tab 3.3b: Coding Frame during Interview 1. Site access and usability □ Bibliographic information □ Sponsor □ Rules for use □ Security of information 2. Resource Identification and documentation □ Title □ URL: Does .gov /.com have any significance to you? □ Apparent audience □ Mission □ Scope of document 3. Navigation within the document □ Organization scheme □ Use of image maps □ Indexes □ Search □ Help system 4. Information structure and design □ Access □ Use of icons □ Document language □ Scope suited to audience 5. Identity of author (name, affliations, training, experience, contact information) Do you actively look for this information? Do you notice this information? What significance does it play in your web search? Should there be a difference since you are looking for information on health? 6. Quality of links (Evaluation and selection of links on the site) How do you know which link you should click on / look at? 3.3c: Wilkenson, Bennet & Oliver (1997) List of evaluation criteria and selected indicators 156 Criterion 1: Site Access and Usability What is the name of the site? What individual, group, or organization sponsors and/or maintains the site? What is the URL of the site? Is the document source code free of bugs and breaks? Does the page take a long time to download? Does the site require a log-on? Criterion 2: Resource Identification and Documentation What is the title of the document? What is the mission, purpose, or scope of the document? Is there a description of the document's content? Is the user informed of improper or controversial materials (e.g., adult language, sexually explicit material, gratuitous violence, etc.) within the document? When was the document created? When was the document placed on the Internet? When was the document last revised? Is the document stable, or likely to be replaced or removed from the site at any time? What is the URL of the document? Criterion 3: Author Identification What is the author's name? What is the author's professional or institutional affiliation? What is the author's position title or academic rank? Was the development of the document funded or otherwise supported by an individual, group, or organization other than the identified author? Criterion 4: Authority of Author Is the author a recognized authority on the topic of the document? Has the author published related materials dealing with the topic of the document? Is the author's training appropriate and related to the topic of the document? Is the author's experience appropriate and related to the topic of the document? Is the author affiliated with an educational institution, research laboratory, governmental agency, or other reputable organization related to the topic of the document? 157 Criterion 5: Information Structure and Design Is the scope of the document clearly stated? Is the title of the document descriptive of its content? Are headings clear and descriptive or do they use jargon meaningful only to the author? Does the content fit the stated scope, purpose, and audience? Are the visual metaphors employed (icons) appropriate for pre-defined age groups (e.g., icons and visuals for kids, or text links and indexes for adults, etc.)? Has an appropriate treatment been applied (e.g., game, simulation, tutorial, etc.) to meet the objectives? Is interactivity employed (e.g., can users click or input an answer and receive feedback, have an opportunity to practice what is presented, etc.)? Criterion 6: Relevance and Scope of Content Is the content related to the user's needs? Is the information sufficiently current to meet the user's needs? Criterion 7: Validity of Content Has the document been linked to or referenced by a recognized authority? Is the document a primary (original, unfiltered material) or secondary (modified, selected, or rearranged information about primary materials) source? Does the information provided contradict or confirm the information from other sources? Does the author provide a bibliography or cite references to confirm the accuracy of the information? Is the site maintained by a university, governmental agency, or other reputable organization? Criterion 8: Accuracy and Balance of Content Are there any obvious errors or misleading omissions in the document? Is the site sponsored or cosponsored by an individual or group that has an established position regarding the issues discussed in the document? Are there indications of careless or hasty preparation, such as spelling or grammatical errors? Is the information presented in the document of a consistent quality? 158 Criterion 9: Navigation Within the Document Is there a good organizational scheme (e.g., by subject, format, audience, chronology, geography, authors, etc.)? Is there provision for topic narrowing via conventions such as menus that follow the organizational scheme? Is there a built-in search function within the document? If linking to another page, is there a way to get back to the home page? Is it easy to locate a particular page from any other page? Is the information on individual pages concise, or is lengthy scrolling required? Is there a system of "help" for those requiring it? Criterion 10: Quality of the Links Are the links clearly visible and understandable? Do essential instructions appear before links and other interactive portions? Are users informed when they are about to link off the site containing the document? Are users informed of the type of file they are linking to (e.g., video, sound, text, etc.)? Are users informed of the type of information they are linking to (e.g., definitions, elaboration, example, etc.)? Are links provided primarily to resources rather than just lists of resources? How reliable are the links (are there inactive links or references to sites that have moved)? Criterion 11: Aesthetic and Affective Aspects Are readability and legibility guidelines followed (e.g., sufficient color and tone contrast between text and background, font size, doesn't use all caps, etc.)? Does the use of color add to the visual appeal of the document? Does the use of pictures or graphics add to the visual appeal of the page? If information is arranged in columns, does the page exceed a single screen? Does the use of time dependent media (e.g., animation, sound, video. etc.) contribute to the affective appeal of the document? Does the resource attract and maintain the user's attention? 159 Appendix 3.4: Interview Guide 3.4a: Pre Self-Confrontation Interview Guide Warm-up questions before they begin web-surfing for information Let us have a chat about your online activities. May I know how often you are on the Internet? What do you usually do online? What information do you normally seek online? Have you ever looked for health related / beauty related information? For instance you want to know what you should do to prevent pimples. Perhaps you are curious to know what causes pregnancy. Have you ever looked for information relating to sexual behaviors? When was this? Interviewees are asked to search for sexuality related information while their on-screen actions are recorded. Could you please gather for me information in this scenario based list? (Hands over the list to interviewee). Look for the information in a manner you would normally do your information search / I need you to find as much information as possible to answer the question. I’ll leave the room now and you can take as much time as you require. 3.4b: Initial Self-Confrontation Interview Guide After the interviewee has searched for the online information, the selfconfrontation interview begins. I’m now going to show you a recording of your earlier on-screen actions. I will occasionally pause the tape to ask you what thoughts you may have at that point. If there were no thoughts at any moment, that is perfectly fine. Similarly, if you need me to pause the tape so that you can explain something to me or to show me something, let me know. I also need you to point out what you would do differently on your own computer, e.g. you would normally press a customized button on your keyboard to open a URL. Do you use auto-complete or auto-save on your own computer? May I know if your browser blocks pop-ups? The on-screen recording will be stopped at certain junctures to elicit comments from the interviewee using the following prompts: Did any thoughts occur to you at this point? Why did you choose to click on this link? Why did you leave this site? Which part of the website were you looking at? 160 9c: Additional Self-Confrontation Interview Guide Questions 1. Did you view the task more of an actual task or did you think in terms of your friend actually facing these problems? 2. Why didn’t you visit the Health Promotion Board / Ministry of Health / hospital websites? 3. Have you ever visited these websites? 4. From what you know, do you think they would have the required information? / In your opinion, do you think they would have the required information? 5. How would you normally look for information? 6. Why didn’t you type any other url other than search engines? 7. Do you notice advertisement links? What do you think of advertisement links? 8. How would you describe your information searching behavior? 9. Do you normally save information in this way? 10. What is the difference between what you have collected and what you have learnt in school? 11. Why didn’t you look at forums or use instant messaging? 12. Do you do a comparison of the content on the website you have searched? 13. Do you think you have collected sufficient information? 14. How do you know the information you’ve looked at is correct / accurate? 161 [...]... proportion of sexualrelated queries, and (2) Comparing the characteristics of sexual and non -sexual queries It examined the characteristics of sexually related queries, including visual images or textual descriptions of sexual behaviour • To develop a deeper understanding of students, their information- seeking practices and what motivated them to learn • To understand their own practices as teachers in online. .. 1 - 6 hrs Kaijie Health using Internet Had looked for psychological and sexual information online 1 - 6 hrs Jonathan Sexual Health • 12 - 16 hrs • Health in general • • Reads the local news online Uses Internet to get information for schoolwork and music interest 1 - 6 hrs • Had sought sexual health information by looking at books in the library • • In getting information for Food and Nutrition course,... Questions The objective is was to enhance understanding of sexually-related information seeking on the Web, including: 1 Identify the proportion of sexually-related queries 2 Compare the characteristics of sexual queries submitted by Alta Vista and AlltheWeb.com users Spink,, Ozmutlu & Lorence (20 04) The study of Web sexual queries provides insight into sexual- related information- seeking behaviour including:... perceptions of how the Internet had changed participants’ leisure/work activities and experiences, and perceptions of how the Internet could be use to find health information A short Internet exercise was undertaken in 20 of the 26 groups Each group was asked to choose a health- related topic and search for information on the Internet 12 Sun, Unger, et al (20 05) Research studies how Internet accessibility and. .. psychological, and sexual healthrelated information 153 Education Pseudonym Race Gender Birth yr Prior experiences seeking information on: Health in Sexual Health using general Health Internet Yes No No Internet Use 1 - 6 hrs Faisal Malay Male 1991 • • Had sought physical and psychological information • For school and for interest such as movies, music, recipes, and fashion • Reads international and local news online. .. information on physical and sexual health previously and visited the Health Promotion Board website to do so Had sought sexual health information for a science project presentation, and smoking for a life skills class 154 Education Pseudonym Race Gender Birth yr Prior experiences seeking information on: Sexual Health using Health in general Health Internet Yes No No Internet Use 6 - 12 hrs ITE ITE ITE Special... No Reads regional and local news online For schoolwork, and spends time online for entertainment specifically, movies and music 6 - 12 hrs • Had sought psychological health information • • • • Reads regional and local news online For school, particularly project and research work For entertainment specifically, movies and music • • • Chinese Yes • Seeks information related to school and personal interest... Yes • • 6 - 12 hrs Chinese Yes Had looked for physical, psychological, and sexual health- related information Polytechnic Hannah Health using Internet • 6 - 12 hrs Malay Sexual Health Reads regional and local news online For school, particularly homework, project, and personal research Spends time on the Internet for entertainment specifically, sports, movies, and music 1 - 6 hrs • Jamal Health in general... limited by health /online literacy skills The only reference to adolescents' quests for online information about sexuality was that they frequently sought this information from a Web site created primarily to provide information about sexually transmitted diseases Study Objectives/ Research Questions This paper seeks to explore UK and US adolescents’ perceptions and experiences of online health information. .. age and/ or gender) and knowledge of content (and/ or order effects) affect perception of message credibility This suggests that when people evaluate online health information, the heuristic cues they attend to vary, depending on the subject matter 148 Appendix 3.1: Age-group statistics according to ethnic group 149 Appendix 3 .2: Detailed Profiles of Respondents Table 3.2b Prior experiences seeking information ... to explore UK and US adolescents’ perceptions and experiences of online health information relating to previous experience of use, saliency of the information, and credibility of the medium Respondents,... insight into sexual- related information- seeking behaviour including: (1) Identifying the proportion of sexualrelated queries, and (2) Comparing the characteristics of sexual and non -sexual queries... source 20 03 No 16 Author(s), Year Becker (20 03) • • • 20 02 No 17 18 Author(s), Year Cothey (20 02) Gordon (20 02) Study Objectives/ Research Questions To explore student perceptions of the role of