Abstract
Over the past few years, a number of studies have examined the impact of the Rate My Professors (RMP) website (RateMyProfessors.com) on higher education. The focal area of examination is whether students' evaluations of their professors on RMP are valid. The current study attempts to push the RMP discussions to a deeper level through two studies. Study 1 illustrates that students rely on the valence of review information on RMP to make their course selection decisions without considering its validity. Study 2 shows that students' decision-making process tends to be biased as a result of review information available. The results of both studies suggest it is necessary for institutions to test new teaching evaluation models online.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1350-1357 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Computers in Human Behavior |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2013 |
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Keywords
- Ease-of-retrieval effect
- Electronic word-of-mouth
- eWOM
- Online student evaluations
- RateMyProfessors.com
- RMP
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Psychology(all)
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Cite this
The power of eWOM : A re-examination of online student evaluations of their professors. / Li, Cong; Wang, Xiuli.
In: Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 29, No. 4, 2013, p. 1350-1357.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The power of eWOM
T2 - A re-examination of online student evaluations of their professors
AU - Li, Cong
AU - Wang, Xiuli
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Over the past few years, a number of studies have examined the impact of the Rate My Professors (RMP) website (RateMyProfessors.com) on higher education. The focal area of examination is whether students' evaluations of their professors on RMP are valid. The current study attempts to push the RMP discussions to a deeper level through two studies. Study 1 illustrates that students rely on the valence of review information on RMP to make their course selection decisions without considering its validity. Study 2 shows that students' decision-making process tends to be biased as a result of review information available. The results of both studies suggest it is necessary for institutions to test new teaching evaluation models online.
AB - Over the past few years, a number of studies have examined the impact of the Rate My Professors (RMP) website (RateMyProfessors.com) on higher education. The focal area of examination is whether students' evaluations of their professors on RMP are valid. The current study attempts to push the RMP discussions to a deeper level through two studies. Study 1 illustrates that students rely on the valence of review information on RMP to make their course selection decisions without considering its validity. Study 2 shows that students' decision-making process tends to be biased as a result of review information available. The results of both studies suggest it is necessary for institutions to test new teaching evaluation models online.
KW - Ease-of-retrieval effect
KW - Electronic word-of-mouth
KW - eWOM
KW - Online student evaluations
KW - RateMyProfessors.com
KW - RMP
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84874842845&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84874842845&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.chb.2013.01.007
DO - 10.1016/j.chb.2013.01.007
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84874842845
VL - 29
SP - 1350
EP - 1357
JO - Computers in Human Behavior
JF - Computers in Human Behavior
SN - 0747-5632
IS - 4
ER -