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1、7N. Corre - MSc Multimedia Technology, 2002.The Strengths and Weaknesses of Ratings OnlineNathanal CorreSubmitted in partial fulfilment of therequirements of Napier Universityfor the degree ofMasters of Science in Multimedia TechnologySchool of ComputingSeptember, 2002Authorship declarationI, Nathan
2、al Corre, confirm that this dissertation and the work presented in it are my own achievement. Where I have consulted the published work of others this is always clearly attributed;Where I have quoted from the work of others the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations this disse
3、rtation is entirely my own work; I have acknowledged all main sources of help;If my research follows on from previous work or is part of a larger collaborative research project I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself.I have read and understand the penalti
4、es associated with plagiarism.Signed: Date:15 August 2002 Matriculation no: 99077221AbstractRatings are increasingly used on the web and they help filtering an abundance of products and information. This project investigates the nature of users rating and their utility in the study case of an online
5、 collaborative questions & answers database about the Middle East conflict. In other words, it deals with information management according to users interaction with the database.In its first part, this report looks at related works in the areas of computerised recommendation system, the use of rated
6、 reputation online, and the structure of a questions and answer database (chapter 1). Then, psychology concepts that could be useful for understanding the way users rate online and use ratings results are investigated. These concepts concern decision making and social influence on judgement. This in
7、formation is also meant to provide hints for the design of the collaborative system (chapter 2).The second part (chapters 3 and 4) focuses on the design, the development, the implementation and testing of See through, a collaborative questions & answers system accessible through a web interface. The
8、 testing phase involved one database about the Middle East conflict. This was targeted at any adult person interested in the topic and it was advertised in news groups and amongst friends and relatives. This prototype was developed in order to assess the act of rating and its implications: to see ho
9、w it influences users choices and appreciation. In order to reach this goal the integration of rating and interactive features (submission from users, freedom to manipulate data) was achieved by using MySQL database along with the scripting language PHP. The combination of the two allowed the creati
10、on of interactive web pages (HTML). The project was then evaluated through an online survey and data collected on the database. Ratings weaknesses mentioned in previous research were confirmed. The distribution of mean rating tends to be higher in high ratings and users tend to rate what is already
11、rated. On the positive side, it was found that compliance to the norm when rating does not work much in that specific environment (See Through) and that ratings can act as social facilitators. ContentsAuthorship declaration2Abstract3Contents4List of tables and figures6Acknowledgements7Acknowledgemen
12、ts7Introduction81Chapter 1: Ratings online and collaborative filtering91.1Introduction: Why use ratings?91.2Examples:91.2.1Le Monde91.2.2D (Cnet)101.2.3Action Forum101.2.4Ebay121.2.5Epinions121.3The context: Virtual community131.4Information filtering in a virtual environment141.5Related research pr
13、ojects151.5.1MovieLens151.5.2Group Lens161.5.3Answer Garden211.5.4Identity and reputation221.6Synthesis:262Chapter 2: The process of decision-making and different forms of social influence272.1Introduction272.2Decision-making: adaptations, heuristics and biases282.2.1Adaptive decision-making282.2.2R
14、epresentativeness302.2.3Availability302.2.4Adjustment and anchoring312.3Group pressure and social influence312.3.1Social facilitation, social impairment and arousal312.3.2Social loafing322.3.3Conformity and compliance332.3.4Deindividuation352.3.5Altruism and helping behaviour352.4Conclusion363Chapte
15、r 3: Prototype design and research framework383.1Aims, objectives and the chosen method to reach them383.1.1Aims:383.1.2Objective383.1.3Method383.2The requirements393.2.1Specifications393.2.2Functional Requirements:393.2.3Non-Functional Requirements403.3Risks and potential benefits413.3.1Potential benefits:413.3.2Risks413.4The incentives423.5The design (according to the requi
