- Assessment and monitoring A user of internet information and guidance services must
be aware that existing resources vary in terms of information quality and accuracy. The
most important analysis criteria and quality indicators are (Mjornheden, 2002):- longevity – clues on accuracy;
- mentioning sources – reciprocal links to sites of relevant institutions to check
information accuracy and quality; - authenticity – information on the organization or person developing the web
site, counsellor competence and qualifications, contact data that should allow
verification through other sources; - impartiality (objectivity) – mentioning the purpose and costs of various
services that should allow a realistic assessment of their utility, and the
existence of alternatives that better answer user purpose; - global perspective – clarity of target groups, referring uninformed visitors to
other sites more adequate to their needs, ensuring transparency regarding
social and cultural aspects, so as to avoid resentment and frustration in
certain groups; - credibility – argument pertinence, justifying and balancing contents, clarity
of the truth value attached to the information presented (distinguishing
between facts and opinions).
In view of the permanently changing social and economic context, quality assurance of
information services presupposes constant monitoring, assessment, and improvement of
efficiency. In order to obtain information on the degree of use and the nature of services,
a series of modalities are employed:
- direct and explicit feedback from clients by online questionnaires;
- recording the number of users by logs or counters;
- extracting user URL (to identify country and region or town/city, e-mail
provider, etc.); - duration of connection;
- most and least visited pages;
- duration of connection (percent by each entry);
- the most looked-for key-words (if the site has an inner search engine);
- access origin (from a site, search engine) and navigation software (browser).