Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to examine one of the information privacy dimensions from the Internet consumers' perspective. Specifically, the goal of this research is to identify the levels of sensitivity of six types of personal information that Internet users are asked to submit to web sites. This research intends to develop a hierarchy of the sensitivity levels based on the results of the study. In addition, this study investigates the willingness of the Internet users to provide their personal information before and after the benefits of submitting the personal information are revealed. In this thesis, the study involved both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The qualitative methodology involved literature review to identify the scope and content of the research. In the quantitative research, a comprehensive survey targeting the students, faculty, and staff at the University of British Columbia was conducted to answer the research questions. Results of the survey of 108 subjects confirm one of this thesis's hypotheses in which different types of information exhibit contrasting levels of sensitivity. Another important finding from the outcomes of the survey suggests that benefits alone do not induce Internet users to relinquish their personal information in general. Implications of this study and future research directions were summarized at the end.
Published Version
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