This study examines how users judge the quality and authority of information on the Web. It involved 15 scholars from diverse disciplines who participated in searches, verbal protocols, and post-search interviews. The study identified two types of judgments: predictive and evaluative. Predictive judgments are made before viewing a Web page, while evaluative judgments occur during viewing. Factors influencing these judgments include the characteristics of information objects, sources, knowledge, situation, search ranking, and general assumptions. The study found that users often rely on information quality and cognitive authority when making decisions. Information quality is defined as the extent to which users find information useful, accurate, current, and good. Cognitive authority is the extent to which users trust the information. The study also found that users made different judgments based on the task, with research and medicine tasks emphasizing information quality and authority more than travel and computer tasks. The results show that users often rely on their knowledge and experience when making predictive judgments, but evaluative judgments are more influenced by the characteristics of information objects and sources. The study concludes that users need support in making judgments of information quality and authority on the Web.This study examines how users judge the quality and authority of information on the Web. It involved 15 scholars from diverse disciplines who participated in searches, verbal protocols, and post-search interviews. The study identified two types of judgments: predictive and evaluative. Predictive judgments are made before viewing a Web page, while evaluative judgments occur during viewing. Factors influencing these judgments include the characteristics of information objects, sources, knowledge, situation, search ranking, and general assumptions. The study found that users often rely on information quality and cognitive authority when making decisions. Information quality is defined as the extent to which users find information useful, accurate, current, and good. Cognitive authority is the extent to which users trust the information. The study also found that users made different judgments based on the task, with research and medicine tasks emphasizing information quality and authority more than travel and computer tasks. The results show that users often rely on their knowledge and experience when making predictive judgments, but evaluative judgments are more influenced by the characteristics of information objects and sources. The study concludes that users need support in making judgments of information quality and authority on the Web.