Publications

2025

1. Investigating the interactions between individuals with disabilities and information retrieval systems: A review of help-seeking situations, search tactics, and design recommendations

   Iris Xie, Wonchan Choi, Hyun Seung Lee, Bo Hyun Hong, and Shengang Wang

   Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2025

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   People with disabilities face barriers when engaging with information retrieval (IR) systems due to designs that overlook their needs. This systematic literature review explores research for individuals with disabilities interacting with IR systems. Relevant theories concerning disabilities were examined, and the gap model was used as the theoretical framework that guided the review. This review covers relevant research published from 2000 to 2023, focusing on user groups with sensory, cognitive, and motor impairments. The main topics are help-seeking situations encountered by these user groups in various IR systems due to system design not meeting user needs, and search tactics applied by users with different types of disabilities corresponding to various help-seeking situations. Design recommendations for IR systems and platforms were also examined. Key limitations in existing research and the authors’ reflections are highlighted, including a lack of theories on the interactions between people with disabilities and IR systems, imbalanced research on and misclassification between different types of impairments, unclear distinctions between accessibility and usability, unexplored IR issues in mobile environments, and inadequate existing IR system designs, along with the challenges posed by one-size-fits-all design. Further research opportunities are also proposed.

2. College students’ credibility assessments of GenAI-generated information for academic tasks: An interview study

   Wonchan Choi, Hyerin Bak, Jiaxin An, Yan Zhang, and Besiki Stvilia

   Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2025

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   The study explored college students’ use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools, such as ChatGPT, for academic tasks and their perceptions and behaviors in assessing the credibility of GenAI-generated information. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 25 college students in the United States. Interview transcripts were analyzed using the qualitative content analysis method. The study identified various types of academic tasks for which students used ChatGPT, including writing, programming, and learning. Guided by two models of credibility assessment Hilligoss and Rieh (2008); Metzger (2007), six factors influencing students’ motivation and ability to assess the credibility of GenAI-generated information were identified (e.g., task salience, social pressure). We also identified 9 constructs (e.g., refinedness, explainability), 5 heuristics (e.g., inter- and intrasystem consistency heuristics), and 10 cues (e.g., version and tone) used by students to assess the credibility of GenAI-generated information. This study provides theoretical and empirical findings regarding students’ use of GenAI tools in the academic context and credibility evaluation of the system outputs using rich, qualitative interview data.

2024

1. College students’ metaphors for ChatGPT: An exploratory study

   Jiaxin An, Hyerin Bak, Wonchan Choi, Yan Zhang, and Besiki Stvilia

   Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2024

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   The introduction of ChatGPT has sparked significant interest and presented both great opportunities and challenges to higher education. While more students are using ChatGPT, little is known about their mental models for and sensemaking of the system, including the metaphors they use to understand the system. In this exploratory study, we interviewed 25 students at three universities in the US during the summer of 2023 to identify the metaphors they use for ChatGPT. Through qualitative analysis of the interview transcripts, we found that participants commonly used metaphors to make sense of ChatGPT. They compared ChatGPT to humans and popular technologies or tools, with being the most frequently Google mentioned. These findings highlight the potential for metaphor-based design and the development of AI literacy programs.

2. Help-seeking situations related to visual interactions on mobile platforms and recommended designs for blind and visually impaired users

   Iris Xie, Wonchan Choi, Shengang Wang, Hyun Seung Lee, Bo Hyun Hong, Ning-Chiao Wang, and Emmanuel Kwame Cudjoe

   Journal of Imaging, 2024

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   While it is common for blind and visually impaired (BVI) users to use mobile devices to search for information, little research has explored the accessibility issues they encounter in their interactions with information retrieval systems, in particular digital libraries (DLs). This study represents one of the most comprehensive research projects, investigating accessibility issues, especially help-seeking situations BVI users face in their DL search processes. One hundred and twenty BVI users were recruited to search for information in six DLs on four types of mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, Android phone, and Android tablet), and multiple data collection methods were employed: questionnaires, think-aloud protocols, transaction logs, and interviews. This paper reports part of a large-scale study, including the categories of help-seeking situations BVI users face in their interactions with DLs, focusing on seven types of help-seeking situations related to visual interactions on mobile platforms: difficulty finding a toggle-based search feature, difficulty understanding a video feature, difficulty navigating items on paginated sections, difficulty distinguishing collection labels from thumbnails, difficulty recognizing the content of images, difficulty recognizing the content of graphs, and difficulty interacting with multilayered windows. Moreover, corresponding design recommendations are also proposed: placing meaningful labels for icon-based features in an easy-to-access location, offering intuitive and informative video descriptions for video players, providing structure information about a paginated section, separating collection/item titles from thumbnail descriptions, incorporating artificial intelligence image/graph recognition mechanisms, and limiting screen reader interactions to active windows. Additionally, the limitations of the study and future research are discussed.

3. Reflective and formative indicators of information credibility on social media

   Wonchan Choi, Liya Zhu, and Hyun Seung Lee

   Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2024

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   As part of a larger project to develop a scale for measuring web credibility perceptions, this poster reports on preliminary findings of a literature analysis to identify reflective and formative indicators of information credibility on social media. Of 90 papers found by a systematic database search and screening, this poster examines 20 papers focused on information credibility on microblogs (e.g., Twitter, Weibo) as a popular source for online users’ information seeking. Our analysis identified 22 reflective indicators (e.g., fair, accurate) and 31 formative indicators (e.g., reputable, attractive), eight (e.g., trustworthy, unbiased) of which overlapped. Given the intertwined, often blurred border between these two sets of items, the coding scheme developed in the present study can help determine the relevance and type of the items. Future research directions are discussed.

2023

1. Developing a platform-specific framework for web credibility assessment: A case of social Q&A sites

   Wonchan Choi, Besiki Stvilia, and Hyun Seung Lee

   Information Processing & Management, 2023

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   Social question-and-answer (Q&A) sites have the potential to serve as a useful source of online information based on their content-focused and collaborative nature. Although previous research has examined various attributes of high-quality information on social Q&A sites (e.g., best answers), relatively less attention has been paid to what affects users’ credibility assessments of information in the social Q&A context. The present study developed a social Q&A platform-specific framework for web credibility assessment, including 21 criteria under six types of web credibility, based on a literature analysis and case study of two online Q&A communities, Stack Exchange and Wikipedia Reference Desk. Using the selected sites’ policies and guidelines (n = 46) as the source of evidence, the case study revealed that content-related attributes (e.g., evidence-based, pertinence) were most frequently identified (12 of 21 criteria) as potential cues and heuristics for web credibility assessments of social Q&A sites, followed by author-related (five of 21; e.g., reputation) and design-related (four of 21; e.g., engaging design) factors. Design-related criteria were rarely included in previous models of web credibility on social Q&A or similar peer-knowledge production platforms. However, our findings showing that both Stack Exchange and Wikipedia Reference Desk have policies regarding all four design-related criteria in our framework—engaging design, moderation, design appropriateness, and ease of use—indicate the potential influences of design features on users’ web credibility assessment on social Q&A sites. Some differences emerged between the two cases, such as policies regarding the answerer’s credentials or semantic accuracy that are present on Wikipedia Reference Desk but absent on Stack Exchange. Such differences in the sites’ policies reflect how they position themselves as social Q&A communities—Wikipedia, of which Wikipedia Reference Desk is a part, as an encyclopedia, and Stack Exchange as a community-based platform for learning, sharing knowledge, and building careers of users.

2. An exploration of robot-mediated tai chi exercise for older adults

   Zhi Zheng, Hyunkyoung Oh, Mayesha Mim, Wonchan Choi, and Yura Lee

   Applied Sciences, 2023

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   In this fast-aging society, many older adults fail to meet the required level of exercise due to trainer shortages. Therefore, we developed a robot tutor to investigate the feasibility of robot-mediated exercise for older adults. Twenty older adults participated in an experimental study. A pre-exercise survey was used to assess their background. Each participant experienced a 30-min robot-led Tai Chi exercise followed by a post-exercise survey to evaluate the easiness of following the robot and expectations for future robot design. Participants’ Tai Chi performances were evaluated in terms of completion and accuracy. Associations between the surveys and the performance were also analyzed. All participants completed the study. Fifteen out of the twenty subjects had at least one chronic condition, and most practiced Tai Chi before the study but had never interacted with a robot. On average, the participants scored 93.09 and 85.21 out of 100 for movement completion and accuracy, respectively. Their initial movement accuracy was correlated with their attitude towards exercise. Most subjects reported that they could follow the robot’s movements and speeches well and were interested in using a robot tutor in the community. The study demonstrated the initial feasibility of robot-led Tai Chi exercise for older adults.

3. Exploring applications and user experience with generative AI tools: A content analysis of reddit posts on ChatGPT

   Wonchan Choi, Yan Zhang, and Besiki Stvilia

   Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2023

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   As part of a larger project, this paper reports on preliminary findings of a study exploring use cases of ChatGPT and associated behaviors and experiences among users of an online forum. Posts on a ChatGPT-related forum on Reddit (n = 452) were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. This paper reports on themes relevant to this study, including the types of tasks for which users used ChatGPT, user experiences, and perceived impacts of ChatGPT. ChatGPT was often used to facilitate various writing tasks (e.g., writing an essay), academic tasks (e.g., finding scientific references for a research paper), everyday tasks (e.g., creating a meal plan), and conversational purposes (e.g., having a simulated conversation about a past event). Users expressed positive (e.g., excited, amazed) and negative (e.g., fooled, concerned) feelings toward the technology. They raised various issues and problems with ChatGPT at the content (e.g., inaccuracy, incompletes) and system (e.g., unavailability, instability) levels. Users discussed the perceived impacts of ChatGPT on individuals (e.g., unemployment) and society (e.g., AI divide). Study findings can inform the design of policies and guidelines for mitigating AI problems and promoting the effective and ethical use of emerging AI technologies.

4. Preliminary findings on developing a scale for credibility assessment on interactive web platforms

   Wonchan Choi and Liya Zhu

   Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2023

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   This poster introduces an ongoing project to develop a scale for measuring information credibility on current and newly emerging interactive web platforms. The poster reports on preliminary findings from an initial phase in the project to generate an item pool based on an analysis of existing scales for credibility (n = 3) and empirical studies in the library and information science literature on web credibility assessments in the social media context (n = 19). Results show that in most papers analyzed (16 of 19; 84.2%), credibility was conceptualized as a one‐dimensional construct and often measured with only one item (e.g., credible, believable), despite the common view among scholars that credibility is a high‐level, multifaceted concept. The analysis also identified 59 semantically distinct items as an initial pool, which will be validated and tested with empirical data in subsequent project phases.

2022

1. Design matters in web credibility assessment: Interactive design as a social validation tool for online health information seekers

   Wonchan Choi, Sang-Yeon Kim, and Manman Luo

   Asian Communication Research, 2022

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   This study explored what makes users perceive a website as a credible source of health information and how web credibility assessment, in turn, influences their health information-seeking behaviors. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted with survey responses from college students (NN = 141) who assessed credibility markers of a website they normally visit to address health concerns. A 4-factor solution emerged as the best summary of the data: (a) content, (b) interaction design, (c) information design, and (d) source. Identified components were used in a linear model to explore the effects of different web credibility types on perceptual, attitudinal, and behavioral outcomes. Alongside content-related attributes (e.g., recency of the information), interaction design-related elements (e.g., ability to interact with other users) were significantly associated with most dependent variables examined in the study (e.g., trust in the information on the site, willingness to follow the advice, and willingness to recommend the site to others). Current results imply that users count on not only content-related cues or heuristics, but also interactive design features as helpful tools for mobilizing social resources (e.g., fellow users) to validate online health information. Theoretical and practical implications of the study findings and future research directions are discussed.

2. Associations between mastery of life and everyday life information-seeking behavior among older adults: Analysis of the Pew Research Center’s information engaged and information wary survey data

   Wonchan Choi, Min Sook Park, and Yura Lee

   Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2022

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   Given the aging world, it is important to understand older adults’ everyday life information seeking (ELIS), which plays a vital role in healthy aging in later life. The present study analyzed national survey data collected by the Pew Research Center in 2016 based on Savolainen’s ELIS model. The model’s core concept, mastery of life, was measured in terms of general coping style to find information (cognitive vs. affective) and expectations about the findability of necessary information (optimistic vs. pessimistic). Weighted multiregression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between mastery of life and ELIS behavior of older Americans (65 years or older) in terms of breath and depth of interest in everyday topics, holding other sociocultural and demographic factors constant. The results showed a cognitive, as opposed to affective, coping style was associated with a wider range of ELIS topics and a deeper level of interest in political and cultural topics. However, whether an individual had an optimistic or pessimistic perspective toward information seeking was not associated with the variety or depth of interest in everyday topics. Neither dimension was related to the depth of interest in sports topics. Practical, theoretical, and methodological implications of the findings are provided.

3. Understanding the research landscape of information and communication technology integration in dementia-focused assistive technologies: Mining literature from 1970 to 2020

   Min Sook Park, Yura Lee, and Wonchan Choi

   Gerontechnology, 2022

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   Background: As our society gets older, the implications of information and communication technologies (ICT)-based healthcare have increased. Although the adoption of ICTs has dramatically changed the landscape of the health sector since the early 1950s, the benefits that ICTs could bring to dementia care have been relatively unexplored. Objective: This paper mined the research articles for insights into how relationships between ICTs and assistive technologies (ATs) in dementia care have been developed historically and should be cultivated in the future. Method: Using text-mining techniques, 2,030 journal articles regarding ATs in relation to ICTs in dementia care published from 1970 to 2020 were analyzed. The literature was retrieved from the Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO, and IEEE Xplore digital library. Results: Despite the active integration of ICTs in many other sectors, the literature demonstrated that research regarding ICT integration in ATs for dementia interventions occurred only after the 1990s. The analysis results also indicate that studies have moved toward supporting the aging-in-place of people with dementia, encompassing major research interests such as assisting with daily activities of living, modifying the home, and promoting recreational activities. A research gap was also identified in technology adoption to support the social interactions of those with dementia, which is a key part of enhancing the quality of life. Conclusion: The research that addressed ICT integration with ATs for dementia care has been evolving and moving from issues of safety and security to maintaining autonomy of people with dementia in their own place.

4. Respite service use among dementia and nondementia caregivers: Findings from the National Caregiving in the US 2015 Survey

   Yura Lee, Wonchan Choi, and Min Sook Park

   Journal of Applied Gerontology, 2022

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   This study examined factors related to respite service use among caregivers and further tested the moderating effect of dementia caregiver status in these relationships using nationally representative U.S. data. Logistic regression analyses were conducted among 1203 caregivers (276 dementia and 927 nondementia caregivers). Caregivers’ race and ethnicity as a predisposing factor, caregivers’ self-rated health as an enabling factor, and care recipients’ living arrangement and functional limitations as need factors were significantly related to respite service use. Moreover, dementia caregiver status moderated the association between enabling factors (i.e., household income, work status, and self-rated health) and respite service use. Our findings imply that dementia caregivers may be more in need of respite service use than nondementia caregivers when they have limited enabling factors (e.g., lower household income, nonworking status, poorer health). Policy and practice efforts that specifically support enabling factors are suggested to promote more respite service use among dementia caregivers.

5. Developing a theoretical framework for web credibility assessment—A case of social Q&A sites: preliminary findings

   Wonchan Choi and Besiki Stvilia

   iConference Proceedings, 2022

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   As part of a larger study, this poster reports on preliminary findings of efforts to develop a theoretical framework for assessing the credibility of information on social question-and-answer (Q&A) sites. A literature analysis was conducted to identify relevant criteria for assessing web credibility on social Q&A sites, which were then mapped to an existing framework of web credibility assessment [1]. Specifically, 21 criteria identified by the literature analysis were categorized into one of six types of web credibility assessments—operator (author) trustworthiness, operator (author) expertise, con-tent trustworthiness, content expertise, design trustworthiness, and design expertise—to develop an information platform type-specific framework of in-formation credibility. Results show that existing criteria used in the literature have focused primarily on content-related attributes (eg, evidence-based, structural completeness, and semantic clarity and comprehensive-ness), but less on operator (author)-related attributes (eg, credentials) or de-sign features (eg, interactive design, appropriateness of design, ease of use). Implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.

2021

1. A feature-oriented analysis of developers’ descriptions and user reviews of top mHealth applications for diabetes and hypertension

   Shengang Wang, Hyun Seung Lee, and Wonchan Choi

   International Journal of Medical Informatics, 2021

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   Background and objective: Diabetes and hypertension are two prevalent and related chronic conditions. To inform the design and development of mobile health applications (mHealth apps) for people living with multiple chronic conditions, this paper examines features mentioned in developers’ descriptions and user reviews of mHealth apps, along with users’ attitudes toward associated features. Materials and methods: Eleven top apps for diabetes and hypertension were identified from Google Play as of January 2020. Based on a stratified sampling strategy, 1,100 user reviews were selected to form the final dataset. Developers’ descriptions were also collected for analysis. Using the grounded theory approach, we developed a feature-oriented coding scheme, which was used to identify three levels of features mentioned in app descriptions and user reviews: feature group (the highest level), feature type (the second level), and individual feature (the lowest level). Users’ attitudes toward app features mentioned in user reviews were also analyzed. Results: Most top-rated apps for diabetes and hypertension under study were multifeatured, incorporating self-management, information sharing, and decision support features. At the feature-group level, most informative user reviews commented on features related to self-management, followed by decision support and information sharing. The four most frequently mentioned feature types were data entry, data export/import, data visualization, and assessment. Users expressed overwhelming positive attitudes toward app features across all feature categories. Based on users’ assessments of existing features and requests for additional features, design implications for app development are provided. Conclusions: Despite the diversity of app features provided by mHealth apps and users’ primarily positive attitudes toward existing app features, more comprehensive and personalized features are expected by app users to satisfy their health needs. Beyond identifying app features in user reviews, future research may seek more in-depth feedback from real-life patients for app development and design using methods like interviews and focus groups, to further enhance the overall quality of relevant mHealth apps to better support users.

2020

1. Validating an extended typology of web credibility assessment

   Wonchan Choi, Manman Luo, and Sang-Yeon Kim

   Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2020

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   This methodology poster introduces an ongoing study seeking to validate an extended typology of web credibility assessments proposed by Choi and Stvilia (2015) using online surveys. The study focuses on health-related topics as an important subject domain for web credibility assessments. The poster describes the study’s theoretical background and methodology, especially the process of developing and testing the online survey questionnaire, which consists of 89 questions in five sections: internet use and experience, health information seeking, web credibility assessment, outcomes of web credibility assessment, and demographic factors. A pretest of the online survey questionnaire was conducted with eight doctoral students, in which each participant answered the questions and provided feedback on the survey design. Pretest results and future research directions are discussed.

2. Older adults’ credibility assessment of online health information: An exploratory study using an extended typology of web credibility

   Wonchan Choi

   Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2020

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   Credibility assessment is a crucial component in the process of peopleʼs health information seeking, especially in the web context. Finding “credible” health information from a plethora of information on the web may be more challenging for older adults, who have relatively less experience with the Internet. This article reports on the findings of an exploratory study of older adultsʼ credibility assessments of online health information. The data collected through semistructured interviews with 21 older adult Internet users in the United States were analyzed based on the extended typology of web credibility (Choi & Stvilia, 2015, Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 66, 2399–2414). The findings of the study revealed that older adults paid closer attention to operator-related credibility cues and heuristics when judging the credibility of health information on the web, followed by content- and design-related ones. Also, the findings suggest that participants who were younger and used the Internet more frequently employed a wider variety of cues and heuristics to evaluate the credibility of online health information. Based on these findings, both theoretical and practical implications of the research and future research directions are discussed.

3. A systematic review of mobile health technologies to support self-management of concurrent diabetes and hypertension

   Wonchan Choi, Shengang Wang, Yura Lee, Hyunkyoung Oh, and Zhi Zheng

   Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 2020

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   Objective: This article reports results from a systematic literature review of the current state of mobile health (mHealth) technologies that have the potential to support self-management for people with diabetes and hypertension. The review aims to (a) characterize mHealth technologies used or described in the mHealth literature and (b) summarize their effects on self-management for people with diabetes and hypertension from the clinical and technical standpoints. Materials and Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Online databases were searched in September 2018 to identify eligible studies for review that had been published since 2007, the start of the smartphone era. Data were extracted from included studies based on the PICOS framework. Results: Of the 11 studies included for in-depth review, 5 were clinical research examining patient health outcomes and 6 were technology-focused studies examining users’ experiences with mHealth technologies under development. The most frequently used mHealth technology features involved self-management support (n = 11) followed by decision support (n = 6) and shared decision-making (n = 6). Most clinical studies reported benefits associated with mHealth interventions. These included reported improvements in objectively measured patient health outcomes (n = 3) and perceptual or behavioral outcomes (n = 4). Discussion: Although most studies reported promising results in terms of the effects of mHealth interventions on patient health outcomes and experience, the strength of evidence was limited by the study designs. Conclusion: More randomized clinical trials are needed to examine the promise and limitations of mHealth technologies as assistive tools to facilitate the self-management of highly prevalent comorbidity of chronic conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension.

2019

1. Challenges in self-management among older adults with hypertension and diabetes

   Hyunkyoung Oh, Yura Lee, Wonchan Choi, and Zhi Zheng

   Innovation in Aging, 2019

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   The World Population Prospects 2019 reports that the proportion of people who aged 65 and above takes up 9 per cent globally in 2019, reaching up to 16 per cent by 2050. Asia has the fastest rise: from 1 in 9 people aged 65 and above to 1 in 4 in 2050. Rapid growth in older adults has strong implications for diseases and healthcare expenditure. For Singapore, the transition from ‘ageing society’ (7% seniors) in 1999 to ‘super-aged society’ (20% seniors) in 2026 is projected to take 27 years, much faster than Japan’s 36 years. We used the Singapore Multi-Ethnic Cohort (MEC) of 14,465 subjects aged 21 to 94, and the Future Elderly Model (FEM) microsimulation model to project disease burden and hospitalization expenditures to 2050. We found that Chinese females had the highest life expectancy of 86.0 years, followed by Indian and Malay females with 80.4 and 75.6 years respectively. In all racial groups, women lived longer than men by 5-7 years. Cumulative hospitalization expenditures of older adults aged 51+ was US69,500 for Chinese, US67,600 for Malays and US86,100 for Indians; US71,200 for males and US$70,700 for females. The increased hospitalization spending for all three ethnic groups was due to the underlying manifestation of chronic diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and stroke. Variations in environmental risk factors such as diet, cigarette smoking and physical activity across ethnic groups may contribute to racial differences in chronic diseases and disability. Therefore, targeted interventions are needed to reduce racial disparities.

2. mHealth technologies for osteoarthritis self-management and treatment: A systematic review

   Wonchan Choi, Hua Zheng, Patricia Franklin, and Bengisu Tulu

   Health Informatics Journal, 2019

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   Osteoarthritis is a common chronic disease that can be better treated with the help of self-management interventions. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies are becoming a popular means to deliver such interventions. We reviewed the current state of research and development of mHealth technologies for osteoarthritis self-management to determine gaps future research could address. We conducted a systematic review of English articles and a survey of apps available in the marketplace as of 2016. Among 117 unique articles identified, 25 articles that met our inclusion criteria were reviewed in-depth. The app search identified 23 relevant apps for osteoarthritis self-management. Through the synthesis of three research themes (osteoarthritis assessment tools, osteoarthritis measurement tools, and osteoarthritis motion monitoring tools) that emerged from the current knowledge base, we provide a design framework to guide the development of more comprehensive osteoarthritis mHealth apps that facilitate self-management, decision support, and shared decision-making.

3. Assessing the informativeness of user reviews on mobile health applications for chronic diseases

   Shengang Wang, Hyun Seung Lee, and Wonchan Choi

   Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2019

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   With advances in mobile health (mHealth) technology and growing ownership of smartphones, mHealth applications have great potential to support patients’ self-management of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Informative consumer reviews on app stores (e.g., Google Play) are a useful source of information for app developers to understand users’ needs and for users to select a pertinent app over similar alternatives. This poster reports preliminary findings of a study that explores factors affecting the informativeness of consumer reviews using a feature-centered rating scale. The results show that consumer ratings and the length of consumer reviews are both correlated with informativeness. These findings will contribute to filtering informative reviews for future in-depth analyses of app features.

4. Analyzing divergent methodologies for political fact checking: United States and South Korea

   Wonchan Choi and Maria Haigh

   Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2019

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   In this work in progress, we explore methods employed by professional journalists to fact-check political claims and debunk inaccurate (“fake”) news stories. We content-analyzed 150 articles evaluating political claims and debunking fake news published by two media companies, the Washington Post (United States) and JTBC (South Korea), during the periods surrounding the recent presidential elections in their respective countries. Overall, the most common types of claims evaluated included false claims made by politicians or political groups about their opponents’ positions and numerical and nonnumerical facts. The most frequently used methods for debunking such false claims included consulting with an independent expert in the given topic domain and checking government statistics or documents. There were some variations in the types of false claims focused and debunking methods used between the two fact-checking organizations.

5. Older adults’ health information behavior in everyday life settings

   Wonchan Choi

   Library & information science research, 2019

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   Health information seeking is an important part of older adults’ everyday lives as they cope with their health conditions. Semi-structured interviews conducted with 21 older adults in the United States were analyzed using Savolainen’s everyday life information seeking (ELIS) model, especially its key concepts such as way of life and mastery of life. The interview data revealed that except for health care providers, a spouse or partner was mentioned as a credible interpersonal source of health information among older adults in a marital or romantic relationship. Characteristics of older adults’ health information behavior in the ELIS context were identified based on types of way of life and mastery of life. For example, those who had more varied types of hobbies, including cognitive, affective, and social hobbies, were exposed to diverse people as they performed their daily routine, potentially resulting in different sources of useful health information. In couple relationships, those with an optimistic as opposed to pessimistic attitude toward a problem-solving situation played the information provider role rather than information receiver role.

2017

1. A framework to design mHealth apps for supporting self-management of chronic disease

   Bengisu Tulu, Wonchan Choi, Hua Zheng, and Patricia Franklin

   2017 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, 2017

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   Research Objective: We present a framework that guides the design of mobile health applications (mHealth apps) that support patients’ self-management of chronic health conditions and symptoms. Study Design: To assess the state of research and market place in utilizing mHealth technology for managing osteoarthritis (OA), a common chronic disease that causes considerable burden in terms of patients’ quality of life and costs for medical treatments, we conducted a systematic review on the literature and a survey of online app stores. Specifically, we conducted in-depth review of 25 articles that mentioned both mHealth technologies and OA management; we also analyzed 23 relevant apps for OA management available in the market place (e.g., Google Play). Population Studied: Literature and mobile apps for OA management Principal Findings: Based on our literature and app analyses, we suggest that three modules should be implemented in an app for any type of chronic disease including OA, namely (a) Self-Management, (b) Decision Support, and (c) Shared Decision-Making. The Self-Management module provides patients with the ability to quantify and log their disease progress and be better informed about the symptoms and available treatment options. OA patients, for example, can record pain levels on a regular basis using this module. The patient-reported data then should be used to generate useful feedback for patients. In addition, the app should provide educational content to improve patients’ understanding of their conditions in general and address potential questions patients might have regarding their symptoms and treatment options. The Decision Support module is the backend of the app where the expert knowledge and computational power should come into play to suggest evidence-based, data-driven treatment options for patients. This module should use patient-reported data fed by the Self-Management module of the app and patient-centered research outcomes reported in the literature to assess patients’ status from the medical treatment perspective. Furthermore, this data can be used to assess patients’ readiness for more advanced treatment options based on clinical evidence. Lastly, the Shared Decision-Making module should enable patients and clinicians to share data collected/generated using the Self-Management and Decision Support modules and to choose the ideal treatment together. To facilitate the shared decision-making process, the app should visualize patients’ progress in the disease management (e.g., trends of symptoms) as well as clinical assessment indices over a period of time. The app should present these results in detailed and summary forms targeting the needs of two user types (i.e., patients and clinicians). The app, therefore, can enable the patients and the clinicians to be in the same page in the supposedly long-term process of chronic disease treatment and help them reach a health care decision based on mutual agreement. Conclusions: The three modules described in the framework can work together to support patients’ self-management of chronic health conditions and symptoms. Implications for Policy or Practice: We believe this framework can help designers develop better mobile health apps that support patients’ self-management and informed shared decision-making in the treatment process with their clinicians.

2. Effects of user interface design and task complexity level on user experience in an mHealth application

   Wonchan Choi and Bengisu Tulu

   AMCIS 2017 Proceedings, 2017

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   User interface (UI) is a crucial component of any application, including mHealth apps, as UI directly affects the user–app interaction, which then determines the concrete user experience with the app. This paper presents the results of an experimental study that examines the effects of data entry UI types and task complexity on user experience within the context of a mobile app. We used a 2 (touch technique: tap vs. slide) X 2 (target direction: vertical vs. horizontal) X 2 (task complexity: simple vs. complex) design. Our findings indicate that UI design in terms of touch technique and target direction, as well as task complexity have a significant impact on the task completion time. As for error rate, however, we did not find any significant differences by UI design or task complexity level.

3. Effective use of user interface and user experience in an mHealth application

   Wonchan Choi and Bengisu Tulu

   Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2017

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   The effect of user interface (UI) design decisions on system usability has been discussed in information system literature. These discussions evolved into investigating the effectiveness of UI and how it affects a system user’s performance, as well as his or her perception of the system as a whole. This paper investigates the role of UI design on facilitating effective use in the context of mobile applications. Based on the Effective Use Theory, we test four different UIs developed for frequent data input tasks in a mobile platform using a controlled experiment and a follow-up survey. Our findings indicate that UI design in terms of touch technique (tap vs. slide) and target direction (vertical vs. horizontal) has a significant impact on the task completion time, as well as the app UIs’ perceived usability and likability. We discuss both theoretical and empirical implications of the results and suggest future research directions.

4. Using mHealth app to support treatment decision-making for knee arthritis: patient perspective

   Hua Zheng, Bengisu Tulu, Wonchan Choi, and Patricia Franklin

   Egems, 2017

2016

1. Using mHealth app to support TKR decision making for knee arthritis patients

   Hua Zheng, Bengisu Tulu, Wonchan Choi, and Patricia D Franklin

   Concordium 2016, 2016

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   Introduction: Arthritis of the knee is the most common physical disability in US adults. For advanced knee arthritis patients, total knee replacement (TKR) is a surgical intervention that can effectively eliminate pain and improve physical function. Before choosing TKR, patients and clinicians must consider the risks and benefits of TKR and determine if the likely outcomes will meet the patient’s individual goals. Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures have been widely used in orthopedic clinical research to summarize the patient’s arthritis pain severity and functional limitations before and after TKR. A national research registry, Function and Outcomes Research for Comparative Effectiveness in Total Joint Replacement (FORCE-TJR), successfully collected PRO measures from 13,000 primary TKR patients of over 150 surgeons in 28 states and disseminated aggregate comparative outcomes to participating hospitals and surgeons. To translate these outcomes to patients, an AHRQ-funded mHealth study is designing and testing a mobile app translating FORCE-TJR outcome data to provide knee arthritis patients with information and education about timing, value, and individualized likely outcomes from TKR to support patient and clinician shared treatment decision making. Methods: We developed an Android-based smart phone app for knee arthritis patients to assess arthritis symptoms and individual readiness for TKR surgery. Tailored, patient-centered outcome prediction models from the FORCE-TJR cohort provide refined outcome estimates. Patient focus groups and clinician interviews were conducted to obtain patients’ and clinicians’ feedback on their preferred graphic displays of data, questions, and evaluation results. Laboratory and field usability testing are beginning to finalize the app content and format. Findings: Three patient focus groups were conducted between December 2015 and February 2016. The preliminary findings from the focus groups revealed that the patients prefer easy tap user interfaces to multi-tap or slider methods, vertical question layout to horizontal orientation, and both numbered and worded rating scales to only using words. With input, a tailored report was designed with individual patient factors and trended pain and function history over time, based on FORCE-TJR data. Final clinician interviews are being conducted to evaluate the app’s shared report. Conclusions: An mHealth app was designed to disseminate tailored patient-centric outcome predictions developed from a contemporary national TKR cohort with refined usability and display features to meet the needs of knee arthritis patients faced with surgical treatment decisions. Dissemination of patient-reported symptoms and outcomes from recent TKR patients will support patient decision engagement and shared decision making for future knee arthritis patients. Lessons Learned: User input can inform the design and implementation of mHealth technology to deliver tailored knowledge to patients through a user-defined, patient-centered smart phone app. The tool will support future knee arthritis patient decisions regarding the need for, and timing of TKR surgery.

2. Developing an mHealth application for osteoarthritis patients

   Wonchan Choi, Bengisu Tulu, Hua Zheng, and Patricia Franklin

   AMCIS 2016 Proceedings, 2016

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   Given the prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) and the potential usefulness of mHealth technologies for OA self-management and treatment decisions, the authors attempt to develop an mHealth App that is particularly focused on OA. As part of a larger project, the authors have conducted two focus groups exploring OA patients’ perceptions of pain data input user interfaces (UIs), pain scale, and requirements for the mHealth App on OA. The preliminary findings from the focus groups revealed that the patients preferred the Tap-Horizontal UI the most, while the Tap-Tap-Tap type of UIs were always rated lower than other types of UIs in the study. In regard to the pain scale, most participants highlighted that including numeric rating scales along with the corresponding wording would help them gauge their pain levels more accurately. Lastly, the focus group discussions and free sketch session generated useful ideas around the functional requirements and design insights.

3. Publication and citation patterns of Korean LIS research by subject areas

   Kiduk Yang, Jongwook Lee, and Wonchan Choi

   Malaysian Journal of Library and Information Science, 2016

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2015

1. Looking beyond the numbers: Bibliometric approach to analysis of LIS research in Korea

   Kiduk Yang, Jongwook Lee, and Wonchan Choi

   Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science, 2015

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   Bibliometric analysis for research performance evaluation can generate erroneous assessments for various reasons. Application of the same evaluation metric to different domains, for instance, can produce unfair evaluation results, while analysis based on incomplete data can lead to incorrect conclusions. This study examines bibliometric data of library and information science (LIS) research in Korea to investigate whether research performance should be evaluated in a uniform manner in multi-disciplinary fields such as LIS and how data incompleteness can affect the bibliometric assessment outcomes. The initial analysis of our study data, which consisted of 4,350 citations to 1,986 domestic papers published between 2001 and 2010 by 163 LIS faculty members in Korea, showed an anomalous citation pattern caused by data incompleteness, which was addressed via data projection based on past citation trends. The subsequent analysis of augmented study data revealed ample evidence of bibliometric pattern differences across subject areas. In addition to highlighting the need for a subject-specific assessment of research performance, the study demonstrated the importance of rigorous analysis and careful interpretation of bibliometric data by identifying and compensating for deficiencies in the data source, examining per capita as well as overall statistics, and considering various facets of research in order to interpret what the numbers reflect rather than merely taking them at face value as quantitative measures of research performance.

2. A new framework for Web credibility assessment

   Wonchan Choi and Besiki Stvilia

   iConference 2015 Proceedings, 2015
3. Mobile wellness application-seeking behavior by college students—An exploratory study

   Besiki Stvilia and Wonchan Choi

   Library & Information Science Research, 2015

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   This research explored the mobile wellness application-seeking behavior of college students. In particular, it examined what sources students used to obtain wellness information, what wellness applications students used and for what purposes, how they learned about those applications, and what factors influenced their decision to choose a particular wellness application from multiple alternatives. The results indicated that students most often used websites as sources of wellness information, followed by mobile applications, family and friends, and then physicians. Students most often learned about wellness applications from search engines and application stores. Physicians were the least mentioned source of learning about mobile wellness applications. The most popular application type was calorie and activity trackers. In addition, when asked to rate the importance of various mobile application characteristics in their decision to select a particular wellness application, students rated usability-related characteristics the highest, followed by application cost and content quality. This study contributes to current research and practice in mobile wellness application design and the provision of mobile wellness services. In particular, it can inform application designers and intermediaries about which mobile wellness applications students use, and how students search for and select those applications.

4. Web credibility assessment: Conceptualization, operationalization, variability, and models

   Wonchan Choi and Besiki Stvilia

   Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2015

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   This article reviews theoretical and empirical studies on information credibility, with particular questions as to how scholars have conceptualized credibility, which is known as a multifaceted concept with underlying dimensions; how credibility has been operationalized and measured in empirical studies, especially in the web context; what are the important user characteristics that contribute to the variability of web credibility assessment; and how the process of web credibility assessment has been theorized. An agenda for future research on information credibility is also discussed.

5. New framework of web credibility assessment and an exploratory study of older adults’ information behavior on the Web

   Wonchan Choi

   2015

2014

1. College Students’ Value Structure of Choosing and Using Mobile Health/Wellness Applications: Preliminary Findings

   Wonchan Choi and Besiki Stvilia

   iConference 2014 Proceedings, 2014
2. How do college students choose mobile health/wellness applications?

   Wonchan Choi and Besiki Stvilia

   Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2014

2013

1. Guidelines for older-adult-friendly online tutorial for Facebook: Content, design, and training principles

   Wonchan Choi, Julia Carranza, and Melissa Fox

   Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2013
2. Difference in citation rates by subject areas of LIS in Korea

   Jongwook Lee and Wonchan Choi

   Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2013
3. Use of mobile wellness applications and perception of quality

   Wonchan Choi and Besiki Stvilia

   Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2013
4. The sonzogno digital library project

   Sanghee Oh, Wonchan Choi, and Silvia Valisa

   Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2013
5. What makes online health information credible for older adults? An exploratory study

   Wonchan Choi

   In CHI’13 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2013

2012

1. The impact of the public library on early reading achievement: using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) 1st grade student sample

   Jung Hoon Baeg, Wonchan Choi, Dong Joon Lee, and Jisue Lee

   In Proceedings of the 2012 iConference, 2012
2. Senior citizens’ credibility assessment of online health information: a proposal of a mixed methods study

   Wonchan Choi

   In Proceedings of the 2012 iConference, 2012

2008

1. Trends in Integrated Electronic Resource Management in Academic Libraries

   Durk-Hyun Chang and Wonchan Choi

   Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science, 2008
2. Development and testing of an e-journal evaluation model for university libraries

   Durk-Hyun Chang and Wonchan Choi

   Journal of the Korean Society for information Management, 2008