PhD thesis complete ✔
I am thrilled to share the news that I have successfully passed my viva and officially submitted my PhD thesis! This journey has been both challenging and rewarding, filled with countless hours of research, writing, and collaboration. As I reflect on this significant milestone, I want to celebrate the achievements, share insights from my study, and express my thanks to everyone who supported me along the way.
My PhD research focused on improving the quality of online informational content. In the digital age, organizations publish extensive knowledge bases online, providing crucial information to stakeholders, customers, and service users. While national laws mandate universal access to information, ensuring content is accessible, the informativeness of the content often gets overlooked. Existing frameworks for assessing information systems primarily concentrate on system facets or task completion, rather than content quality.
This interpretive study aimed to address this gap by identifying key attributes that significantly impact information quality. Through four action case studies, I examined these attributes and highlighted areas for content improvement. Each case study involved observations using task scenarios and the concurrent think-aloud protocol to gather user perceptions and cognitive understanding of website information.
The insights gained from these studies led to the development of the Informative Web Content Guidelines (IWCG), a new model for practitioners aimed at enhancing web content quality. These guidelines align with existing industry standards mandated by national governments to improve online accessibility. The study introduced three new attributes—fallback, information usability, and interactivity—integrating them with established academic information quality frameworks.
The IWCG provides a practical approach for refining web content. By synthesizing general literature with focused online studies, this model empowers practitioners to create more informative and user-friendly online content, ultimately improving the user experience. The guidelines are available on my website for those interested in implementing these best practices.
Passing my viva was a moment of immense joy and relief. The viva process, though daunting, was an opportunity to discuss my research in depth, defend my findings, and receive valuable feedback from esteemed examiners. Their insights were incredibly enriching, helping me see my work from new perspectives and considering future research directions.
This journey would not have been possible without the unwavering support of my supervisors, colleagues, friends, and family. Their encouragement, feedback, and understanding kept me motivated during the most challenging times. I am deeply grateful for their belief in me and my work.
Looking ahead, I am excited to see how the Informative Web Content Guidelines can be adopted by practitioners in line with the upcoming WCAG 3.0, and how they will evolve with further research and technology developments. I hope my work will contribute to making online information not only accessible but also highly informative and usable for everyone.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of this long yet rewarding journey. As I move forward, I am eager to continue contributing to the field of educational technology and online information quality, exploring new research avenues, and collaborating with like-minded professionals.
More information on the Informative Web Content Guidelines (IWCG) is available in the Projects area of my website, along with a link to my submitted thesis.
