Paper ID
2376
Paper Type
short
Description
Question and Answer (Q&A) websites serve as a platform that brings together individuals posting questions with those that can provide possible answers to those questions. Since Q&A platforms are human-made information technology (IT) artifacts, this study seeks to better understand how the designed interactive components of a platform, particularly those reflective of the crowd, impact the communication between help seekers (those that post questions) and solution providers (those that provide answers). This study sheds light on the composite role that the formation of questions and answers, along with feedback from the crowd, play in arriving at a validated solution (i.e., accepted answer) for a posed question. Using empirical data from one of the largest Q&A platforms, and applying the novel analytical technique of composite modeling, this study finds that the crowd is central in understanding how answers are perceived on the platform, and how a validated solution crystallizes from the set of answers provided.
Recommended Citation
Zaza, Ibtissam; Junglas, Iris; and Armstrong, Deborah, "Studying the Artifacts of Q&A Platforms: The Central Role of the Crowd" (2019). ICIS 2019 Proceedings. 18.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2019/crowds_social/crowds_social/18
Studying the Artifacts of Q&A Platforms: The Central Role of the Crowd
Question and Answer (Q&A) websites serve as a platform that brings together individuals posting questions with those that can provide possible answers to those questions. Since Q&A platforms are human-made information technology (IT) artifacts, this study seeks to better understand how the designed interactive components of a platform, particularly those reflective of the crowd, impact the communication between help seekers (those that post questions) and solution providers (those that provide answers). This study sheds light on the composite role that the formation of questions and answers, along with feedback from the crowd, play in arriving at a validated solution (i.e., accepted answer) for a posed question. Using empirical data from one of the largest Q&A platforms, and applying the novel analytical technique of composite modeling, this study finds that the crowd is central in understanding how answers are perceived on the platform, and how a validated solution crystallizes from the set of answers provided.